Full Metal Jacket (1987) - dir. Stanley Kubrick

I guess I agree with everyone else… the first half is perfect. It’s flawless filmmaking, filled with incredibly dark humor, beautiful yet ultimately simplistic cinematography, and a fantastic social commentary. Vincent D’Onofrio is astounding, R. Lee Ermey delivers one of the finer supporting performances I’ve ever witnessed, and Kubrick’s one-point style feels so routinely militant, the first half is almost too good.

The second half is Matthew Modine’s, and Matthew Modine’s alone. The other actors really don’t stack up. And though the climax takes too long to develop, by the time we get there it’s still enthralling. One of Kubrick’s finer films, and the best film on the Vietnam War(though, admittedly, Full Metal is so great because it’s about so much more than Vietnam).

9.2

(Source: filmrevues)