First Review of Semester 2: Full Metal Jacket (1987)
New semester, same blog. Every week I watch a new movie, write down what I like/dislike about it, and then give my recommendation on whether someone should watch it.
Plot Synopsis: A platoon of American soldiers go through boot camp and then to Vietnam where they experience the very real horrors of war.
This movie is split up into 2 parts. The first of these takes place in a US Army boot camp in South Carolina. Here, we are introduced to the main character, James Davis (although he is more often referred to as “Joker” by the drill sergeant and his peers due to a joke he makes in the first scene of the movie). In the same scene, we also meet “Cowboy”, a platoon member of Joker and “Gomer Pyle”, a dimwitted member of the platoon who is constantly harassed by the drill sergeant and his peers alike. In this section of the movie the audience gets to see the drill sergeant break the recruits down only to build them back up as soldiers. I thought it was interesting how the drill sergeant character was played by a real US Army drill sergeant. In every scene, he makes it clear that he is in charge and should not be disrespected.
At first, Private Pyle is constantly verbally and physically harassed by the drill sergeant for being unable to follow his instructions. However, after receiving some help from Private Joker, Pyle soon begins to perform better in the sergeant’s eye. The sergeant soon complements Pyle on his marksmanship and knowledge of his weapon. I’ll finish my thoughts on this first part of the movie in the spoilers section.
After graduating boot camp, Joker is assigned to the army’s newspaper in Vietnam. We see how the newspaper cherry picks the stories to tell as to keep morale high amongst soldiers and attempt to improve the war’s reputation in the States. After the base where he was stationed was attacked during the Tet Offensive, Joker and another army journalist meet up with the Lusthog Squad: a Marine squad which Cowboy is a part of. Joker reunites with Cowboy and then interviews the squad to get their accounts of the war. While on patrol, the squad commander is killed, leaving Cowboy in charge. An incident with a Viet Cong sniper leaves Cowboy with tough decisions (decisions that will be covered in the spoiler section).
SPOILERS
The day after graduating boot camp, Private Pyle shoots the drill sergeant and himself. Even though he was broken down and built back up, Pyle was not built back up correctly. He became obsessed with his weapon and being a soldier, to the point where he used his training to get revenge on the sergeant who had viciously harassed him for months. Pyle’s story gives a look into the psychological side effects that the brutality of army training in the 1960s.
Later in Vietnam, Cowboy and Joker are pinned down by a sniper. When one of their squad mates is shot, Cowboy calls for backup only to hear that any potential support is too far away. This leads to some squad mates rushing in to save their comrade, which only leads to them being shot as well. Eventually, the squad rushes the sniper only for Joker and fellow journalist to mortally wound her. When the rest of the squad catches up, the wounded sniper begs to be shot. We then wait for what feels like an extremely long time for joker to shoot her in the head. The movie ends with the squad marching home singing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song.
There is a lot that can be said about this movie. Its realistic and brutal look into the process of becoming an American solider in Vietnam should horrifying to any viewer. Countless critics have broken down each scene and theme in this movie, but the best way to understand is to watch it for yourself. Although this movie is considered a classic, I would not call it perfect. However, if you have 2 and 1/2 hours to kill, I would definitely give this movie a shot.
I really appreciate you putting the spoiler warning in your blog. This a movie I’ve been meaning to watch, as I’ve heard a lot about it but have never gotten around to it. That’s really interesting how they used a real US Army drill sergeant in the movie for one of the most notable and famous characters in the movie. He’s the one character that I’ve heard about previously in this movie.
I feel that this movie perfectly encapsulates the horrors of war, and the strange situation that many GI’s found themselves in in Vietnam. They were all young, not much older than we are today, and the generation was excited to have their own World War 2. Little did they know, it wouldn’t be anything like the good vs. bad of the Second World War. Oftentimes, it was the Americans themselves that were the bad guys. Scenes such as the chopper gunner indiscriminately shooting a door machine gun at Vietnamize Farmers encapsulates this well. Also, the casting of R. Lee Ermey was a perfect decision for this move! I find it particularly humorous that he improvised most of the insults he hurled at the soldiers.
While much of this movie is quite realistic, my understanding of military training is that it is not as depicted. R. Lee Ermey explains this himself, stating that DIs as rough as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman were few and far between (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjffzVCno84). Humiliation and excessive verbal abuse in the military is frowned upon, and physical abuse almost always results in repercussions. Striking another soldier or marine has been for centuries considered highly unprofessional and disruptive to the trust between subordinates and their leaders.
Thank you for this input. Much like a work of art, the message of the director/writer/actor in a movie is subject to their own beliefs and opinions on the world. Perhaps the very cold and strict demeanor of the drill sergeant and other marines was more of an artistic choice rather than a literal representation. I’d imagine that privates killing themselves would not be something that the military wants (although veteran suicides in recent years far surpass combat deaths). Regardless, thanks for the differing opinion and input.