- Full Metal Jacket is the story of the Vietnam War seen through the eyes of a US Marine known to the audience as “Joker”. The movie, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is split into two parts. The first part follows Joker alongside his fellow Marine recruits through Boot Camp as they suffer under the colorful Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played by R. Lee Ermey in his most famous role), and the second part follows Joker’s struggle to keep his humanity while he covers the Vietnam War as a combat correspondent.