--- title: "Full Metal Jacket: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket" critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Full Metal Jacket (1987): what the critics said Critics' score 72 from 13 reviews: 10 positive, 1 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics come down firmly in favour, and the praise gathers in the same place: the boot camp that fills the first half. R. Lee Ermey’s drill sergeant is singled out again and again, with Vincent D’Onofrio and Matthew Modine close behind. Several reviews also credit the two-part structure itself, arguing that the split between training and combat is what sets the film apart from other Vietnam pictures, and that its standing has grown over time. The reservations cluster just as tightly, on the Vietnam half. RogerEbert.com finds the film shapeless once it leaves the barracks, and Empire finds Kubrick powerful in the camp but unengaged once the fighting starts. Time Out goes further, calling the direction cold and manipulative and the recruits hard to care about. The Hollywood Reporter stands alone in dismissing the whole thing as a didactic misfire. The spread is wide, from full marks to near contempt, but the dissenters are few. ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 5/5. Kubrick's penultimate film is a harrowing, foul-mouthed and violent Vietnam War drama that begins with a long training camp sequence before moving to a bombed-out Vietnamese city. Its message is simple but its technique is extraordinary, with superb performances especially from Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio and Matthew Modine. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-8bca6q/full-metal-jacket/) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 November 2007. The critic praises the film as one of Kubrick’s grittiest and most resonant works for its unflinching look at the duality of man and the mythologies of war-making. He highlights the two-part structure, strong performances (especially Modine and Ermey), and effective photography that puts viewers in the line of fire. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/full-metal-jacket/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 1987. The critic finds Kubrick's film a harrowing, beautiful, and eccentric Vietnam drama that will puzzle and fascinate audiences. It is compared favorably in spirit to Apocalypse Now for its antagonistic and elliptical narrative style drawn from the source novel. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/26/movies/film-kubrick-s-full-metal-jacket-on-vietnam.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Sheila Benson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 1987. Kubrick creates a powerful, clinical statement of outrage about the perversion of innocence through militarism, with the two sections not perfectly balanced but still a muscular return to form. It singles out the pitiless basic training sequences and the lacerating edge given to familiar battle moments for their horrifying impact. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-26-ca-6582-story.html) ## Little White Lies — William Carroll Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 May 2019. The film stands apart by focusing on individual soldiers' psyches and personal narratives rather than collective or epic war stories. It singles out the intimate, pared-down sequences in Hue City and Private Pyle's harrowing arc for their chilling portrayal of psychological damage. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/full-metal-jacket-stanley-kubrick-personal-horrors-war) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2025. The film is celebrated for its first half's performances by R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D’Onofrio, with the second half in Vietnam equally strong in showing the effects of dehumanization. Its reputation has grown over time despite initial perceptions as just another Vietnam War picture. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/every-stanley-kubrick-movie-ranked.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 3/4. 26 June 1987. The film is strangely shapeless and uncertain where to go after a strong opening, with the Vietnam sections often looking like conventional war movies. It singles out the powerful basic training sequences and R. Lee Ermey's performance for praise while criticizing the lack of payoff and emotional connection in the later parts. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/full-metal-jacket-1987) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1986. Kubrick's film is described as an intense, schematic, and superbly made Vietnam War drama divided into boot camp and combat sections. The script's vivid military vernacular and strong performances, especially by Matthew Modine, are highlighted as key strengths. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/full-metal-jacket-1200427262/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is divided into two distinct halves and finds Kubrick on inconsistent form, powerful in the boot camp but frustratingly unengaged once in Vietnam. R. Lee Ermey’s performance as the drill sergeant is singled out as staggering. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/full-metal-jacket-review/) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2011. The first half focuses on the dehumanising Marine training programme before switching to Vietnam, where black irony, madness and bigotry abound amid a muddled moral message; Kubrick's direction is steely cold and manipulative, and the recruits remain distant and unengaging despite gripping moments. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/full-metal-jacket) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 1987. The critic calls the film a didactic, static harangue and massive artistic misfire, criticizing its overly composed scenes, talky political discussions, and predictable training sequences. He singles out the shrewd use of '60s pop music and some savage black irony for praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/full-metal-jacket-review-1987-movie-1009708/) ## Digital Spy — Simon Kinnear Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 March 2018. The critic calls Full Metal Jacket a radical, structurally and aesthetically distinctive work that focuses on the madness of military training. It singles out R. Lee Ermey's blistering performance and the film's claustrophobic, precise yet pretentious quality for praise, describing it as riddled with mad brilliance. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a659273/kubrick-movies-ranked/) ## Consequence — Blake Goble Rating 8. 15 July 2019. The critic praises the film's two-part structure and iconic performances, especially R. Lee Ermey's drill sergeant, while noting its disturbing impact and Kubrick's signature style. It highlights the shocking boot camp sequence and the film's refusal to offer neat resolutions on war. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2019/07/stanley-kubrick-movies-ranked-list/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket.md