The Full Metal Jacket Effect

R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket

I recently re-watched Stanley Kubrick's Marines and Vietnam War masterpiece, Full Metal Jacket. As I watched the first section of the movie (I like to think of it as two separate movies rolled into one--training and the war), I was quickly reminded of how I felt when I watched it the first time: it in no way made me want to join the Marines. It in fact had a negative effect, leading me to determine that if that film were my only window into a portrayal of life as a Marine-in-training, I would think anyone who agrees to do so must be crazy. I have subsequently dubbed this effect the "Full Metal Jacket Effect," which I will define as the net decrease in desirability of picturing yourself in the same setting as the characters in a [military] movie. I confine it to to military movies only because I have to stop it somewhere, right? Otherwise this would be a post encompassing every movie ever made--so let's stay on topic.

Conversely, the Full Metal Jacket Effect can be seen in its inverse, consisting of movies that lead to a net increase in desirability of being in a similar military situation as the film portrays. One would think these would be harder to find, because a good, knowledgeable director will do his or her best to make war seem as "hellish" as possible. War never changes, right? Even so, these do exist, maybe because of the movie's ability to glorify the courage or nobility of actions taken by its actors.

Whatever the reason for the FMJ Effect and its inverse, I wanted to highlight a few movies that fall on each side of this continuum, with brief commentary of each. I will warn you that they may contain spoilers (though for ones that cover true, historical events you should have already come across spoilers in high school history class). I will rate the following movies on FMJ Effect scale from -10 (highly negative) to 10 (highly positive). Keep in mind this is a select sampling, not meant to include all relevant films that exist or even all that I've seen.

"Full Metal Jacket Effect" Most Negative (-10)

Saving Private Ryan (-9)

1998

It's hard to argue against this portrayal of World War II being one of the more brutal watches among military movies. It is probably the realism and gore that make Saving Private Ryan such a negative on the FMJ Effect scale. I would wager very few people would be interested in suiting up and jumping on a lander to storm Normandy after watching the movie. I would argue that Saving Private Ryan is one of the most thorough war movies out there, covering much of the atmosphere of life in the European theater through the eyes of a small squad. It also includes Vin Diesel in a role where he's somewhat less of a "retarded chimp" than you'll find in his other movies.


Full Metal Jacket (-8)

1987

I struggled with the distinction between this and Saving Private Ryan. In the end I had to place Full Metal Jacket as slightly better on its own scale, if only because most of what was repellant about this film took place in the controlled environment of Parris Island, during basic Marine training for the soldiers that would eventually make their way to Vietnam. However, even though (most) people didn't die during the training segment, Sergeant Hartman (played by R. Lee. Ermey, who, like Samuel L. Jackson, is in everything) does a fantastic job helping the viewer realize that even training is no picnic. Stanley Kubrick goes further, however, and does a great job of showing the disconnect from societal norms that soldiers may face in the field after long deployments.

Black Hawk Down (-5)

2001

Black Hawk Down recounts the "true" events of the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia that unfold after a Black Hawk helicopter is shot down over the city and survivors of the crash await rescue. I put the word "true" in quotation marks only because there are apparently a bevy of criticisms of the film's veracity and impartiality. At any rate, Black Hawk Down falls on the negative side of the FMJ Effect scale because it shows what can happen when soldiers find themselves exposed on the wrong side of enemy lines. Oh, and speaking of "enemy lines," that's a nice segue into our next film.


Behind Enemy Lines (-2)

2001

Behind Enemy Lines is a fictionalized version of events that occurred during the NATO Bosnian peacekeeping mission. I used this movie because it involves Navy pilots instead of ground troops, and I wanted to have a few varying military perspectives represented. However, Owen Wilson's character quickly becomes a ground troop himself when his plane is shot down and he is forced to spend the next several hours running around Bosnia in an attempt to reach the extraction point. Because of the extreme, perpetual danger his character faces throughout the movie, Behind Enemy Lines has to fall on the negative side of the FMJ Effect scale. However, because it's Owen Wilson in the role, and because his nose is so curious, a lot of the feeling of danger and reality is lost when I watch this movie. That's just the way it is. (For a more thorough portrayal of Navy piloting, go see Top Gun, though I'm sure you already have.)


Neutral (no "Full Metal Jacket Effect") (0)


Body of Lies (3)

2008

This one isn't really a "military movie" per se, because it deals with the CIA. Even if I wanted to stretch the definition of military, I don't think I could bring in clandestine CIA operatives, because they receive an entirely separate budget, etc. etc. So why did I include this movie, and why is it on the positive side of the FMJ Effect scale? Candidly, I included it because it's one of my favorite movies, especially dealing with wartime topics. I just love it. As for why it lands on the positive side of the scale, well, aside from the occasional torture scene, Leonardo DiCaprio makes being a clandestine operative seem pretty awesome. So long as you know what you're doing, I suppose. I also want to direct your attention to a similar movie that I like almost just as much: Traitor. Watch it--especially if you're as big of a Don Cheadle fan as I am.


The Hurt Locker (7)

2008

I'll be honest. I would never actually end up in the military, no matter how "cool" a particular movie can make it seem (save for the possibility of doing JAG, but we'll save that for the next movie). However, The Hurt Locker does a great job of making it seem pretty cool. I choose this scene to demonstrate the movie because it illustrates both the terror and mindless boredom that can come with scenarios that arise under deployment--all wrapped in one! Overall, the main reason I loved this movie and rate it highly on the positive side of the FMJ Effect divide is the sheer badassery demonstrated by the main character. Unfortunately, as I would never possess such qualities, I probably shouldn't go wishing for such a role just yet.

A Few Good Men (9)

This one's not entirely in line with the others for two reasons. First, it takes place on a military base and entirely away from combat, and two, the military members I look to in the movie happen to all be JAG lawyers rather than enlisted soldiers. While JAG members have to go through basic training like any other soldier, they will spend their military days trying cases rather than taking bullets. I know it's unfair to compare that to other military films where soldiers are losing limbs, but I credit A Few Good Men with my (slight) interest in joining the JAG Corps. Besides, it introduced one of the most famous lines in movie history.

Inverse "Full Metal Jacket Effect" (10)

Note that I didn't include a film on either the full -10 or 10 side of the scale. That's not to say one doesn't exist, but I would call any movie that receives a straight 10 to be a very effective recruiting video, and any one that receives a -10 to be a strong historical documentary (if it's done properly, it should probably make us want to avoid being in such situations ourselves). There's also no "0" movie, though I'm sure there are many out there that include military scenarios but elicit no response in its viewers either way.

I'm aware there are dozens of other military movies, and many of them are subjectively "better" than the ones I've chosen to include on this list. However, I didn't want to make a post that was itself 10 pages long, nor do I have the will to do so right now. If you're hurt that your favorite movie isn't on here, go ahead and include it in the comments below, and give it a rating on the Full Metal Jacket Effect scale if you'd like.