These are the words of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played by the believable Lee Ermey) at the begining of the film after a haunting montage of numerous recruits having all their hair shaved from their head. During the prolonged sequence we see that all the recruits, whether they be black, white, asian, from Texas, from New York etc slowly become alike and have been stripped of the prvilage of having their own hairstyles, hence their own identity. This supports Hartman's degrading comments that they are all maggots and that they are all equally worthless.

We are then taken into the world of Millitary training using some unorthadox methods, for example; sleeping with your rifle and calling it a girls name becuase your days of "finger-banging Mary-Jane Rotten Crotch and her pertie pink panties" are over. During the course of training, Hartman starts to develop a certain hate toward Private Pyle because of his general incompetence on the assault course, on parade and other basic training requirements. Joker, recently promoted to Squad Leader because of his sheer guts and honesty, takes Pyle under his wing and tries to help him with the procedures involved in thier training. This however fails and Sergeant Hartman starts to channel his aggresion into all of the recruits. When Pyle does something wrong, it is not he who is punished, but the rest of the unit. This begins to develop a general hate for Pyle, and after several night-time beatings, Pyle slowly turns into what Hartman wants him to turn into, a killer. Pyle is now able to field strip weapons with ease, he can memorise the field manual word for word, he has the best shot on the firing range, he starts to turn into the perfect soldier.

"What is your major-malfunction, numb nuts?"

This is a rare film about the Vietnam war as it shows the relentless bullying and pressures that make people soldiers in the first place. Films such as "Apocolypse Now" and "Platoon" focus on the psychology of soldiers when they're in the jungle and when they are in combat. Full Metal Jacket explores this pysche from the very roots of the Millitary. Producer, Writer and Director Stanley Kubrick ("A Clockwork Orange", "2001:- A Space Oddesy") brings his surreal yet human touch to this film with a certain ironic and scathing humour with sweaping and dynamic camerawork. Business as usual then...

The late Stanley Kubrick lets us ito this world to which most of us have never experienced and turns it into a disturbing but ultimately enjoyable movie. With Kubrick being the Writer, Producer and Director, this was his show, his creation, his project and his enthusiasm shows. His camerawork is bold and intelligent. For example after the marine unit in Hue City is attacked and they advance to the city, using cover movement techniques: the camera moves forward at ground level in a straight line with soldiers running in front of it hiding behind some debris, then running again. This methos captures the hussle and bussle of the activity much better than from a camera angle that pans from a distance. With the camera being close to the action, it helps you get into and makes you feel that you are there with the marnies, ducking and running for cover. Another moment in the film that produces chuckles is the montage of interviews of soldiers by a film crew. This gives them the opportunity to develop their characters in a different way to how it is normally done (usually boring "lets get to know one another" dialogue scenes). Kubrick shows this Interview scene throught the news crew's camera, which results in the actors looking into the camera and ultimately at you, which feels a little uneasy at first but you get used to it. One thing that makes Kubrick a very influential and inspiration director is his understanding that the camera can enhance a story just as much as compelling performacnes.

Kubrick's script is masterful, plain and simple. The script is believable, occaionally vulgar and spiked with a scathing humour that pushes the film close to the realm of Black Comedy. The script captures detail briliantly as well do the other production methods, such as lighting. A surreal blue wash for the night-time beating scene with bars of soap wrapped in towels, the good use of plain natural light for the outdoor scenes etc.

BOTTOM LINE
Full Metal Jacket is an expertly crafted film with only minor flaws that are few in number. It's original storyline from the rigors of basic training, to the nightmarish combat in Vietnam that is told simply and as it is. A film that makes you feel multiple, different emotions within its duration that leaves you satisfied and rewarded.

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY :-
Platoon - Oliver Stone brings his personal experiecne and horrors of Vietnam into this powerful war film.