Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageFull Metal Jacket (1987)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The first half of Kubrick's movie steers clear of South East Asia altogether, focusing on the dehumanising training programme undergone by a group of novice US Marines. Then, after a suitably melodramatic bloodbath, the action switches to 'Nam, where star recruit Pvt Joker (Modine) soon tires of his behind-the-lines job as military journalist and provokes his CO into sending him forth into the shit. Black but obvious irony abounds, madness and racist bigotry are rampant, and a muddled moral message arises from the mire of a sprawling second half when the cynical, nominally heroic Joker finally learns to kill. None of which is to suggest that the film is bad; despite a certain stereotyping and predictability there are moments of gripping interest. Finally, however, Kubrick's direction is as steely cold and manipulative as the régime it depicts, and we never really get to know, let alone care about, the hapless recruits on view.Author: GA
User reviews of this film
-
- Dan said...
- Posted on Jul 21 2008 18:51 I think it's a cop-out to have given the film such a low rating when the director's intentions were clearly to have in force some of the very things you claim detracts from it (racist bigotry, killing of innocents, dehumanization). That is the nature of war. There's no use in sugar-coating something that is rightfully, as you claim, "steely cold."
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Quick Ben said...
- Posted on May 24 2008 19:38 I've said it before, I'll say it again. This website obviously dose not watch the films it's reviewing. Every film of any significance has been given a bad review.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- H.Limmen said...
- Posted on Jan 29 2008 19:09 This reviewer has got it all wrong, because you get to know the main character, and care about him. And to say this, what a pathetic r"eview". Stop making reviews. Just... stop.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Kurt Munro said...
- Posted on Sep 10 2007 01:30 What a joke of a review, for a joke of a website.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood, Arliss Howard full cast
Genre(s): War
Duration: 116 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The Coens' 'Burn after Reading': review
Pitt and Clooney star in the Coen brothers' latest, 'Burn After Reading', which opened the 2008 Venice film festival
John C Reilly on ‘Step Brothers’
Method man turned slapstick comic John C Reilly talks to Time Out about his new film ‘Step Brothers’
Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’
Wally Hammond talks to Guy Ritchie about his latest film, ‘RocknRolla’ which sees him safely back in his old manor among the familiar carnival of villains, scams and high-octane spills and thrills
Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’
Dave Calhoun discovers from director Saul Dibb that his latest, 'The Duchess’ is far from your typical aristos-in-love movie
Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?
With the release of animated spin-off 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', Tom Huddleston wonders whether George Lucas will ever return to his roots.
What do you think?
Post your review now