There are a ton of great war movies out there that do an unbelievable job at capturing the emotion and intensity of what being under fire was like, such as the critically acclaimed Saving Private Ryan which had one of the most memorable and intense war scenes of any movie I have ever seen, with thousands of men storming the beach on D-Day. However, while this movie and several others like it do an adequate job of capturing the tragedies of war, very few them are able portray the hilarity and amusement of green soldiers as they progress through weeks of boot camp. Enter Full Metal Jacket, a film that takes place during the vietnam war, and revolves around several new recruits as they not only get through the hardships of boot camp, but as survive day in and day out during the Vietnam War and learn of the tragedies that have become part of that country ever since the war started. Now as I said before, this film does have it's moments of hilarity, which usually come within the first part of the film particularly when the drill sergeant (Lee Ermey) comes in from start cursing at and insulting soldiers mainly through sick and twisted jokes which are often times quite original and more often than not will make you laugh out loud. While most people would think that crazy banter like this would take away from the importance and realism of the film it actually immerses you and draws you in to the experience because it makes you realize what types of torment and pressure these soldiers were under, which makes for a truly interesting dynamic since you hardly even notice this switch between amusement and seriousness because the film transitions between these two emotions so seamlessly.
Besides the hilarious drill instructor, there are several other characters which play an important role in showing you how soldier evolves from a innocent civilian into a cold blooded killer in just a couple of weeks. Take Joker for instance, in the beginning of the film he starts out being the sarcastic, free spirited recruit who initially messes with drill sergeant because he doesn't know any better, but by the end of the film you see Joker change, maybe not into a sadistic killer, but into something much more disciplined and battle hardened, something that this character would have never dreamed of becoming until he saw first hand what a brutal war can do to so many people in so little time. Besides Joker, there are other characters which are wholly unique and interesting to observe as they become soldiers, between Cowboy, a shorter fellow who resides all the way from Texas, to Pyle, an obese and seemingly useless soldier who can't seem to do anything right and as result is not only verbally abused by the dill instructor but also is eventually physically abused by his fellow recruits because of his mistakes. Between just these few unique characters alone we are able to see how some men are able easily adjust to their new environment while others such as Pyle have to go through such a struggle just to get by which sometimes results severely decreased moralize which can make any man turn into something that can only be described as an empty shell of their former selves.
From beginning to end, this film does a sensational job of capturing the everyday hardships of these soldiers, both through the fun and amusing, and through serious and devastating times. Simply put, Full Metal Jacket is a film that portrays every part of a soldiers like in such a way that makes you think and wonder how any man would be able to emotionally survive in a place where everything he knows is brutal and unforgiving and what he must become is something that not even these men could ever believe was possible
