^war films are always obsessed with heroism and mastering the shocking quality of violence. in addition to this, depending on the movie (usually the crappier the movie the more so) jingoism and vilification of the opposition (kill the commie, towelhead and or nazi bastards!). the thin red line was way more about spirituality, freedom. man vs. nature and destruction. which in my opinion are way outside the box of the typical range of war films whether it be good ones (saving private ryan) or crap films (windtalkers).
full metal jacket is a great movie, it does a lot of the same old mega macho stuff with slick production, but what makes it unconventional is the style: dialogue, characters, subject matter. kubric successfully flashed between ironic/humor (in some cases satire) and seriousness. so many other movies have really come up short on that. and i think its one of the only vietnam movies (apocalypse now is in the clear too) that doesn't pull the WELCOME TO 'NAM MOTHERFUCKER, WELCOME TO THE SHIT! crap.
personally i thought platoon was a cheesy load of crap (has some good parts though).