FMJ

It is the Vietnam war, American citizens are creating an outcry for peace and the army/government refuses to yield. Meanwhile, our young men drafted from across the U.S. are dieing to guerrilla warfare, in battles that are almost meaningless to our country. This is a prelude to Full Metal Jacket, written by Stanley Kubrick.
As the movie begins Joker, Pyle, Animal Mother, Rafterman, etc… are all attempting to make it through the USMC boot camp. However, they are quickly taken to Vietnam to help support our troops out there. Fraught with danger, they are dropped down and entered in with the Tet Offensive, making their way through I.E.D.’s, snipers and guerrilla fighters.
Throughout this, instead of a sense of excitement and adrenaline packed fight scenes, you actually get a feeling of depression as you slowly see a platoon of men getting slowly decimated for a cause which none of them really understand. Then we see Gunnery Sergeant Hartman’s predictions come to life, as he trains and leads them throughout the movie he foresees Pyle as being one of the best marines to be. Pyle lives up to most expectations as he starts becoming in himself a deadly weapon of war. However Joker seems to be a slight let down as he is afraid to act when the time comes where he is needed.
Now we find ourselves entering the second section of this two-part film. Joker then takes the lead roll yet again, as we delve into his personality and reasons for joining the Marine Corps. He describes how he wanted to be a killer, but when he was tossed head over heals into the Tet Offensive, he finds it difficult to kill another live human being. In total he must decide if he is the killer he wanted to be.
Reverting back to the Marine Corps. Training we see Pyle and Joker as they progress from untrained, unskilled men into somewhat fighting machines. Pyle is shown as being a slightly obese and very simple minded man, screwing up throughout boot camp, Pyle is then assigned as his tutor. Although this does help for a short time, It all comes to a head when group discussions and help turn into abusive sessions, where Pyle is the target.
Overall this movie is a great piece of American film and all should watch it. If you “enjoyed” Platoon, this movie is another good watch for you. Personally I would give it a 4/5 and I must say I am impressed how much it did affect me since I watched it for the first time around five years ago.