Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Kubrick's penultimate film is a harrowing, foul-mouthed and violent Vietnam War drama that begins with a long training camp sequence before moving to a bombed-out Vietnamese city. Its message is simple but its technique is extraordinary, with superb performances especially from Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio and Matthew Modine.

The critic praises the film as one of Kubrick’s grittiest and most resonant works for its unflinching look at the duality of man and the mythologies of war-making. He highlights the two-part structure, strong performances (especially Modine and Ermey), and effective photography that puts viewers in the line of fire.

The critic finds Kubrick's film a harrowing, beautiful, and eccentric Vietnam drama that will puzzle and fascinate audiences. It is compared favorably in spirit to Apocalypse Now for its antagonistic and elliptical narrative style drawn from the source novel.

Kubrick creates a powerful, clinical statement of outrage about the perversion of innocence through militarism, with the two sections not perfectly balanced but still a muscular return to form. It singles out the pitiless basic training sequences and the lacerating edge given to familiar battle moments for their horrifying impact.

The film stands apart by focusing on individual soldiers' psyches and personal narratives rather than collective or epic war stories. It singles out the intimate, pared-down sequences in Hue City and Private Pyle's harrowing arc for their chilling portrayal of psychological damage.

The film is celebrated for its first half's performances by R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D’Onofrio, with the second half in Vietnam equally strong in showing the effects of dehumanization. Its reputation has grown over time despite initial perceptions as just another Vietnam War picture.

The film is strangely shapeless and uncertain where to go after a strong opening, with the Vietnam sections often looking like conventional war movies. It singles out the powerful basic training sequences and R. Lee Ermey's performance for praise while criticizing the lack of payoff and emotional connection in the later parts.

Kubrick's film is described as an intense, schematic, and superbly made Vietnam War drama divided into boot camp and combat sections. The script's vivid military vernacular and strong performances, especially by Matthew Modine, are highlighted as key strengths.

The film is divided into two distinct halves and finds Kubrick on inconsistent form, powerful in the boot camp but frustratingly unengaged once in Vietnam. R. Lee Ermey’s performance as the drill sergeant is singled out as staggering.

The first half focuses on the dehumanising Marine training programme before switching to Vietnam, where black irony, madness and bigotry abound amid a muddled moral message; Kubrick's direction is steely cold and manipulative, and the recruits remain distant and unengaging despite gripping moments.

The critic calls the film a didactic, static harangue and massive artistic misfire, criticizing its overly composed scenes, talky political discussions, and predictable training sequences. He singles out the shrewd use of '60s pop music and some savage black irony for praise.

The critic calls Full Metal Jacket a radical, structurally and aesthetically distinctive work that focuses on the madness of military training. It singles out R. Lee Ermey's blistering performance and the film's claustrophobic, precise yet pretentious quality for praise, describing it as riddled with mad brilliance.

The critic praises the film's two-part structure and iconic performances, especially R. Lee Ermey's drill sergeant, while noting its disturbing impact and Kubrick's signature style. It highlights the shocking boot camp sequence and the film's refusal to offer neat resolutions on war.