Jarhead Review

Warning Spoilers!

When going to the movie theaters to watch an exciting war movie, one would generally expect to see a glorious battle filled with explosions, fire fights and a conclusion that gives a sense of pride for the nation’s military. Forget about all that flashy cinematography and gory battles, Director Sam Mendes expertly combines humor with the seriousness of war in Jarhead to portray the truth behind 20th century warfare.

Jarhead shows the life of a Marine through the eyes of Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) and how those that enlist come in with no direction in life and leave only to find out that the effects of war will always follow them. The movie basically takes you through Swoffords time spent in the Marine Corps. In the opening scenes of the movie we see Swoff being berated by his drill instructor as the movie progresses we see his character slowly change into a "Jarhead". A jarhead is the slang word for a Marine whos head can resemble an empty vessel. Swoffs character changes from a timid young man just coming out of highschool, to an aggressive soldier with only a desire to shoot something. We see how the war seems meaningless and how a majority of the time spent in Iraq consisted of the servicemen training to fight a battle which would never come. They would scan fake mine fields, throw grenades into random areas of the desert, and have nerve gas drills at any point in time -- in one of the more humorous scenes of the movie the audience is shown the absurdity of such monotony when the Marines play football in full chemical suits. The movie does not show to much action in general and seems to be geared more towards showing how the Marine Corps life really was during training and the time spent Iraq.

The movie does a great job in showing the cruel methods of training in boot camp and how tough it is to be in the marines. But at the same time the music brings a feeling of absurdity and comical relief to make up for all the profanity used as well as the odd pranks the marines would do to each other. The setting of the film was in the deserts of Iraq and this helped to bring the idea of really being in the "suck". Seeing the hot temperatures and barren wastelands really show how boring life would be for the Marines. At a certain point in the film they describe how the Marines keep themselves busy to avoid boredom which gives a basic idea of what our tax money is being used for when our government says our troops are currently deployed in Iraq. This movie accurately shows how the government really takes the life of the Marine into their hands. We can see this when the soldiers are being interviewed by news reporters and Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx) orders the Marines to lie about their true experiences in Iraq and make it seem like the war effort is really worth fighting for.

Unfortunately the movie does not do a great job in keeping you focused on the movie and at certain times seeing what life really was like in the Marines can really get you sick of watching the movie. You constantly see the Marines acting like a bunch of rowdy cowboys acting in a manner that does not seem fit for the military. About the only point in the movie that you see guns being fired is during training and in the end of the film when the war is actually over and the soldiers begin to fire into the sky in a crazed manner. The movie could have pulled off the message of a monotonous life the Marines had to live and the pointlessness of the first gulf war if even a little more action scenes were put in.

All the characters in the film did a swell job in showing the different perspectives and beliefs the soldiers had about the war. We have Anthony Swofford who is the protagonist of the film and he can basically represent a typical highschool student enlisting into the marines thinking that he can make something of himself without having to go to college. Then we have Corporeal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) who is the criminal that would like to turn his life around and chose to be in the marines to do so. He is sensitive to the feeling of others and this helps the character to connect with the other soldiers on a deeper level. We also have Private Kruger (Lucas Black) who plays the the marine that holds on to his rights and complains about the censorship of the government on the soldiers and how the cause of the war can be blamed to no one else but our own government. You Also have Private Fowler (Evan Jones) who is the enthusiastic yet brainless marine that only lives for the imediate pleasures in life. Every character within the film is able to bring a different idea to the mind of the movie goer and we can see it clearly through the moving performances given by the actors.

Overall this movie for me was an expereience that showed me how war is not really what its cut out to be. As a college student i had once thought of joining the Armed forces but after watching this movie it really made me think twice. I would recommend this movie to those who have any opinion about the current war in Iraq, especially those who are against it. I would also recommend it to those who think about joining the Marines simply because it seems fun. This movie will give you a reality check. For those that want a movie with action and lots of gun fights and explosions this movie will only disappoint you. I would say out of 5 stars i would give it a 3.

Rated: R for Pervasive language, some violent images and strong sexual content
Run Time: 2 hours 3 minutes
Release Date: March 7, 2006
Genre: Action, Historical War
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Director: Sam Mendes