Full Metal Jacket
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick.
Written by: Gustav Hasford (novel), Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Michael Herr (screenplay).
Actors: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, R Lee Ermey, Ed O’Ross, Arliss Howard.
Released: 1987.
MPAA Rating: R.
Length: 116 min.
War.

Brief outline (no spoilers):
In the movie we follow Joker (Modine) as a USMC soldier. The movie consist of two parts the training and the deployment in Vietnam. During training we get to see how Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (Ermey) drills them to become first class soldiers and killers. The second part begins in Vietnam, near Hue, at the time of the Tet Offensive.

Personal opinions
This is an excellent war movie. This movie comes out as very believable on how war probably is for a soldier. It does not try to make any elaborate filmatic schemes to glorify the fighting, but gives you as is; very cynical, brutal and uncivilized. It does not have any obvious political agenda to critique the Vietnam War or the reasons for the war. It is not a pro-war movie, even a lot of metal heads like this movie for the raw violence. It critic the war in the only way a movie can do, to portray the raw reality and that should be enough for the viewer to feel disgust against war.

Good
The movie is action packed and you never get bored. The movie also has a good share of dark humor when the Drill Sergeant Hartman gives the rotten soldiers a mouthful on the training. Hartman is really entertaining with all the name calling and rough talking. It also has a great share of uncensored war reality and shocking reality.

Bad
Some other people have complained about the acting, but it is not obvious.

Other
There are obvious parallels between Full Metal Jacket and Clockwork Orange. They deals with the transformation of men and craziness of the world. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket has a parallel character in the Jail officer (Michael Bates). Joker (Modine) in Full Metal Jacket and Alexander ‘Alex’ de Large (Malcolm McDowell) in Clockwork Orange undergoes a transformation by a government institution in a ratter though way.

Bottom Line
This movie is really violent and unpleasant to watch, but it is a genuine war movie. It is one of the very best war movies.
Rating: 8/10 (where 10 is the best).