Day 138: Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Movie #87 – Full Metal Jacket (1987) - 116 min, cert 18.

The movie follows Private Joker (Matthew Modine) as he endures basic training on Parris Island to become a US Marine, then as he is posted to Vietnam as a reporter for Stars and Stripes.

This movie can be split into two parts. In fact, it almost comes across as two completely separate movies. The first 45 minutes or so deals with basic training, concentrating mostly on the ongoing confrontation between Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, the drill instructor, and Private Pyle, an overweight recruit who can’t seem to get anything right. The remainder of the film follows Private Joker as he travels around Vietnam, taking up most of the time in a couple of key encounters.

Of these two sections, the first is by far and away the best. Quite frankly, after basic training is over, the film seems to lose its way a bit, and becomes much like many of the other Vietnam War films that have been produced.

Score – 7/10. The second half of the film fails to live to the first.

Next up is Bicycle Thieves which I’ve never heard of. It’s old, black & white and in Italian, and looks dull as ditchwater, but we shall see.