I think the training section of the film works really well but all of the stuff that was supposed to be in Vietnam falls flat. Famously a stickler for controlling every part of a production, Kubrick staged the Vietnam war on a bit of waste land by the Thames estuary at Beckton. He remained in control and produced Full Metal Jacket.

Francis Ford Coppola chose to shoot Apocalypse Now in the Philippines and was subject to all kinds of madness, delays and destruction and produced the better film.

I thought it was up to what I expect of Kubrick. I like how the troops are all shown to be traumatized children doing horrible shit because all normal emotion has been beaten out of them. You follow a bunch of shitty people and they live up to the bar set by uncle Sam.

What didn’t you like? It’s been a while, maybe I’m forgetting something awful.