Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is revered as one of the all-time best war films ever put to screen. Stanley Kubrick is a very interesting director in my opinion. If you think about it, most peoples’ filmographies are mainly composed of comedy, drama, sci-fi, or any other one genre. However, Kubrick really dove into each and every genre and did it with flying colors according to most people. 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the all time great science fiction films, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a hilarious satire on the Cold War,  and The Shining is one of the creepiest horror films ever made. While I might not be a huge fan of his entire collection, he definitely succeeded with what he was trying to do and is considered one of the best filmmakers to work in Hollywood.

     I’ll be honest, I had a lot of opportunities to watch Full Metal Jacket but never took advantage of them. Again, I am not always the biggest fan of Kubrick so I was trepidatious to watch it. As soon as the film began, I was pleasantly surprised. I think I associated Kubrick’s films as always being a little bit weird and off beat and really wondered if his style was a good fit for a Vietnam War movie. After watching Full Metal Jacket, if I hadn’t already known, I wouldn’t have been able to guess that Kubrick had directed this movie. In my opinion, that’s a real accomplishment for Kubrick. Since he decided to try out so many different genres, he needed to always adapt and change things up to fit the story he was telling. Full Metal Jacket is an excellent example of that because it feels like a war film through and through.

     The reason this movie is so interesting to me is because it has two very distinct halves. The first half focuses on a group of marines at basic training camp before being shipped off to Vietnam. It’s definitely the stronger half of the film. I absolutely loved the storyline they develop in the movie’s opening. Essentially, the sergeant in charge of training all the marines is extremely tough. Looking back, not too much happens in the first act. What really makes it stand out is the character development and relationships they form with one another. You get to see how all of them deal with such a difficult situation. Sometimes, they tackle problems as a group and sometimes they turn on one another if someone is holding them down. I don’t think any other war film is comparable to the first half of Full Metal Jacket. It delves in to the major emotional and psychological problems that people can deal with even before going to war. It’s more about the preparation for war than war itself.

     Then, the film takes a drastic turn and that’s where it gets very interesting in my opinion. The second half is a little long in my opinion and definitely drags on. However, it is still has some amazing elements and moments. Again, I think what makes the movie so good is how well it delves into the psyche of the characters. The weird thing is, is that the second half of the movie almost feels like a completely different film. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a movie with such distinct halves. The events of the first part of the film are never really mentioned and don’t seem to drive any of the characters' actions or decisions.

     That did leave me wondering what the importance of the first half of the movie was. I get the message it’s trying to bring across but I don’t get how it relates to the later events of the film at all. It leaves me to wonder what was in Kubrick’s head when he made the film. It’s a film I can’t completely grasp. Sometimes, those can be the best movies that open themselves up to a lot of great conversations.

     I’m not going to score this one because no matter what I think, this film is and will always be considered a classic. It’s on Netflix right now and I’d definitely recommend checking it out. It’s a movie with a lot of strong elements that raises a lot of great questions. You’ll be trying to analyze and figure it out for a while after.