FULL METAL JACKET 121
in January 1968. Joker, now a corporal, is a journalist for Stars and Stripes who
works alongside photographer Pfc. “Rafterman” (Kevyn Major Howard). Both men
are afforded the opportunity to enter the battlefield when Viet Cong and North
Viet nam ese Army (NVA) forces launch the Tet Offensive with simultaneous attacks
throughout South Vietnam. Accompanied by Rafterman, Joker is sent to Phú Bài
where they meet the Lusthog Squad and Joker is re united with Cowboy, who is
now a sergeant. Joker joins Cowboy’s squad as they enter the city of Huế, losing
their platoon commander, Lt. Walter J. “Touchdown” Schinoski (Ed O’Ross), to
enemy fire in the pro cess. Once the Marines secure the area, American TV news
journalists enter Huế and interview Marines on camera about their experiences in
Vietnam and their attitudes toward the war. Cowboy takes command after squad
leader “Crazy Earl” (Kieron Jecchinis) perishes. When the squad becomes disori-
ented Cowboy orders “Eightball” (Dorian Harewood) to scout the area. A well-
hidden Viet Cong sniper opens fire, wounding Eightball while he is in an open
area between buildings. The squad medic, “Doc Jay” ( John Stafford), is also wounded
while attempting to rescue Eightball. Cowboy tries to call in tank support but is
informed that no tanks are available. When Cowboy orders a withdrawal, Animal
Mother (Adam Baldwin), the squad’s M-60 machine gunner, disobeys Cowboy and
attempts to save his comrades, but Doc Jay and Eightball don’t make it out alive. A
sniper kills Cowboy, and Animal Mother takes over the squad and coordinates their
attack. Entering a building, Joker discovers that the sniper is a teenage girl (Ngoc
Le) with an AK-47. When he tries to shoot her, his rifle jams so Rafterman shoots
her instead. As the squad converges on her, the mortally wounded sniper begs to
be put out of her misery. The men argue the merits of killing her versus letting her
suffer. Animal Mother decides to permit a mercy killing— but only if Joker does
the killing. After some hesitancy, Joker shoots the stricken girl, and his fellow
Marines congratulate him on his kill. In the final scene, the platoon moves through
the city at night. Silhouetted against raging fires, the Marines sing the “Mickey
Mouse March.” In voice- over Joker states “I’m in a world of s—... yes. But I am
alive. And I am not afraid.”
Reception
In theaters from 26 June to 23 August 1987 (widest release 1,075 theaters), Full
Metal Jacket earned $46.3 million at the box office, versus a production bud get of
$30 million: a moderate success at best. Though critical notices were largely posi-
tive, many reviewers noted the stark bifurcation between the film’s gripping first
half at Parris Island and its less focused and engaging second half in Vietnam. Roger
Ebert prob ably came close to expressing the critical consensus when he wrote,
“Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is more like a book of short stories than a novel.
Many of the passages seem self- contained, some of them are masterful and others
look like they came out of the bottom drawer. This is a strangely shapeless film
from the man whose work usually imposes a ferociously consistent vision on his
material” (Ebert, 1987). Vincent Canby found more to admire: “Full Metal Jacket,
Mr. Kubrick’s harrowing, beautiful and characteristically eccentric new film about