During the Vietnam War, a group of USMC recruits arrive for basic training at Parris Island. Drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman uses harsh methods to train them for combat. Among the recruits are the wisecrackin… See more

• Matthew Modine as Private (later Sergeant) James T. "Joker" Davis, a wisecracking young Marine. On set, Modine kept a diary that in 2005 was adapted into a book and in 2013 into an interactive app.
• Adam Baldwin as Sergean… See more

Michael Pursell's essay "Full Metal Jacket: The Unravelling of Patriarchy" (1988) was an early, in-depth consideration of the film's two-part structure and its criticism of masculinity. Pursell wrote that the film shows "wa… See more