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re: Platoon or Full Metal Jacket
Posted on 3/21/13 at 7:34 am to Clark W Griswold
Posted on 3/21/13 at 7:34 am to Clark W Griswold
I hate when people hate on the second half of FMJ. Boot camp is obviously amazing, but the second half of the movie is still really good. You have fighting, the sniper scene (which is pretty great and has tons of tension), the "Surfin Bird" scene, the whole "Joker getting his thousand yard stare" thing, etc. And of course...Animal fricking Mother. It's well shot and the story is solid, but everyone just loves the first half so much (and rightfully so) that they unfairly write off the second half IMO.
I used to love the first half and be pretty meh on the second half, but over the years my opinion has changed and I've come to respect and really like the Vietnam half.
I used to love the first half and be pretty meh on the second half, but over the years my opinion has changed and I've come to respect and really like the Vietnam half.
This post was edited on 3/21/13 at 7:40 am
2
Posted on 3/21/13 at 7:43 am to Jim Rockford
quote:
First half of FMJ. The rest is meh.
Once they leave boot camp I thought it really got slow. I have always loved Platoon, despite what Slo pointed out.
This post was edited on 3/21/13 at 7:45 am
Posted on 3/21/13 at 7:55 am to Bench McElroy
quote:
His movies feel way too over the top, contrived and staged at times and almost none of his movies have any replay value. Platoon really hasn't aged that well compared to some of the really great movies about Vietnam such as Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter.
You think Platoon feels contrived and staged and yet give the ultimate contrived and staged Vietnam War film (Apocalypse Now) a pass?
Also...Platoon has aged VERY well. The death of Sgt. Elias is one of the most memorable scenes in movie history and has been spoofed countless times - most recently in Tropic Thunder.
This post was edited on 3/21/13 at 7:58 am
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:05 am to Rittdog
Platoon is 2 hours of greatness
Full Metal Jacket is about an hour of greatness and an hour of meh
Full Metal Jacket is about an hour of greatness and an hour of meh
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:30 am to Marciano1
FMJ by a mile. First half is accurate and good. 2nd half is OK. Platoon was way too far fetched for me. One example is Elias going off alone and Barnes going to look for him alone. No NCO would live very long operating like that. The drug use was also terribly overblown. There are several other exagerations but i will stop there.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:39 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:I would agree with this.
the over the top nature of some things
to the OP, if you want a good movie about Viet Nam, see Platoon. It doesn't get any better. It's liek the BoB of the VN War.
FMJ is just a great movie with the war as back drop. I prefer FMJ. I could watch it over and over.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:39 am to DanTiger
quote:
The drug use was also terribly overblown.
The volume of drug use tended to depend on what unit you were in and who your commanding officer was. The platoon depicted in this particular film was led by a lax/weak LT who probably couldn't have stopped his men's use of marijuana even if he tried.
Also keep in mind that Platoon is a semi-autobiographical film of Stone's experiences in Vietnam. Quite a few things that happen to Charlie Sheen's character happened to Stone himself. Also...the film's climatic battle was a very accurate reenactment of a battle the film's military adviser, Dale Dye, went through during his tour of duty in Nam.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:42 am to CocomoLSU
quote:
I used to love the first half and be pretty meh on the second half, but over the years my opinion has changed and I've come to respect and really like the Vietnam half.
+1
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:42 am to RollTide1987
quote:I would agree if I thought FMJ was an anti-war movie. It's more showing what people can become in war. It doesn't really get into all the political stuff.
Platoon is the better film and is much more effective at getting its anti-war agenda across than Full Metal Jacket.
One of the guy's names in FMJ is Animal. That's not even metaphorical it in your face.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 8:48 am to alajones
Uncommon Valor > either of these movies.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 9:05 am to RollTide1987
quote:
The volume of drug use tended to depend on what unit you were in and who your commanding officer was. The platoon depicted in this particular film was led by a lax/weak LT who probably couldn't have stopped his men's use of marijuana even if he tried.
I am a Nam vet so I am familiar with what went on. I assure you there were no drug bunkers anywhere in country. Everyone there would have been caught and court marshalled.
quote:
Also keep in mind that Platoon is a semi-autobiographical film of Stone's experiences in Vietnam. Quite a few things that happen to Charlie Sheen's character happened to Stone himself. Also...the film's climatic battle was a very accurate reenactment of a battle the film's military adviser, Dale Dye, went through during his tour of duty in Nam.
The claymore scene with Sheen in the beginning gave me goosebumps. Stone definitely used a great deal of poetic license when writing this film.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 9:20 am to Rittdog
FMJ is 2 movies in 1. One of my all-time favorites.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 9:26 am to Rittdog
First half of fmj>platoon
Platoon > second half of fmj
Platoon > second half of fmj
Posted on 3/21/13 at 9:29 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
i think i'm going to go FMJ
i don't like the narration of platoon, nor the over the top nature of some things (like willam defoe's jesus pose)
I agree with all this. I will say that I think FMJ after they leave Paris Island isn't all that great though.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 9:40 am to Palm Beach Tiger
Obviously you'd think I like Platoon more but not much more than FMJ. Both are great. Platoon was a movie, as a kid, I fell in love with and watched countless times. FMJ fell just below it for me.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 9:57 am to CocomoLSU
quote:
I used to love the first half and be pretty meh on the second half, but over the years my opinion has changed and I've come to respect and really like the Vietnam half
I'm the same way. My only gripe with the 2nd of FMJ is that it doesn't look like Vietman, it looks like it was, well filmed in England
Posted on 3/21/13 at 10:02 am to alajones
quote:
One of the guy's names in FMJ is Animal
Animal Mother.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 10:11 am to Rittdog
FMJ.
Platoon too depressing.
Platoon too depressing.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 10:16 am to CocomoLSU
Thanks for clarifying
I think every perosn in here posting that the second half is bad must be braindead. I cna't fathom it at all.
I think every perosn in here posting that the second half is bad must be braindead. I cna't fathom it at all.
Posted on 3/21/13 at 10:25 am to Rittdog
FMJ is basically two movies. My friends always talked up all of the boot camp scenes. When I finally saw the movie the Vietnam parts were quite surprising.
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