If you didn’t see the rating coming then you were most likely unaware that this is a film directed by my favourite filmmaker: Stanley Kubrick (“2001: A Space Odyssey”, “Eyes Wide Shut”). “Full Metal Jacket” is deep, disturbing, memorable and most-importantly it is entertaining in a way that only Kubrick’s films are.

In “Full Metal Jacket”, we follow a group of army recruits as they suffer through the training camp, punished ruthlessly by the harsh-talking and no-nonsense Seargent Hartman (R. Lee Ermey “Toy Story”) but none of that can amount to the dehumanising effects felt once in Vietnam. It may seem dark, you peel back a layer and it’s funny, you peel back another layer and then you find the true darkness hidden in this film.

R. Lee Ermey gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen as the instantly-quotable Sargent Hartman. He embodies everything right and wrong about military training; he’s truly one of the greatest character cinema has ever produced, along with Kubrick’s Alex DeLarge and H.A.L. 9000. I also adore the recruits, from Joker (Matthew Modine “Transporter 2”) to Pyle (Vincent D’Onofrio “Men In Black”) as at first they seem silly but then as the film continues they appear more and more terrifyingly realistic.

While it isn’t his absolute best, “Full Metal Jacket” is another all-time classic from Kubrick. I didn’t really care for “Saving Private Ryan” all that much but this is a war movie I felt sucked into from the first frame or perhaps it was the first line of dialog from R. Lee Ermey… and no, I’m afraid I can’t repeat it or any of his lines for that matter. If you miss out on seeing “Full Metal Jacket” then I pity you… I seriously do because it is a very important movie.