Full Metal Jacket (1987)
“Seven-six-two millimeter. Full metal jacket.” Quoted from a deranged marine after all the de-humanizing training a coldblooded sergeant could muster. It’s not that I’m against the training - it’s probably very necessary and saved countless soldiers during wartime efforts ~ but they really need to run psyche evaluation regularly to make sure the soldiers aren’t going coo coo! Well, I think they do that nowadays… at least I hope they do.
Full Metal Jacket was one of the later movies from Kubrick. As some of you might know, I have a strange fascination with the famous director. I’ve disliked all of his work up until … well, no, not quite… - I still dislike most of his work with FMJ as tolerable. Why is it bad?
The story is certainly a good one - in the beginning, we follow a bunch of newbs going into Paris Island and getting the newbness beat out of them. It is very eye-opening for the folks not knowing what the military life entails ~ and the same goes for me (officers get pampered). The same traditions still exist today, as seen from Jarhead, a much newer movie for the current era. After all the newbness got kicked out of them, we follow the life of one particular marine and his stint as a propaganda military journalist.
I think all the elements are there for FMJ to succeed but one extremely important thing: good actors. Other than the sarge — I got the feeling all the other actors just… read their lines and didn’t really think about them at all, or their importance. Also, the movements… the emotions ~ almost robotic. I don’t want to review what I wrote for Clockwork Orange, but it’s the same feeling — the people are just very poor actors and I disliked watching them “act!”
Well, if you like other Kubrick’s movies, you’ll probably like this one. I didn’t…
[quote]
Private Joker: What do we get for ten dollars?
Da Nang Hooker: Every t’ing you wan’.
Private Joker: Everything?
Da Nang Hooker: Every t’ing.
[/quote]