Jarhead (2005)

Good Movie for a Boring Day

This isn't the most captivating movie in the world, but it does have humor in it with a serious underlying message. It's a good movie to watch when you're tired, but not so good for real brain stimulation. August 3, 2008

Not at all what I expected

I rented this one last night, expecting a typical war story. What I got was something else entirely. This is the movie adaptation of the autobiographical book of the same name by Anthony Swofford about his experiences in the Marines during the first Gulf War. As a former military guy myself from that era, I was initially drawn into the story because I could relate to Swofford's introduction into military life at boot camp. It was a scene familiar to anyone with armed forces experience. Unfortunately, the movie went downhill from there.

As the story traces Swofford's short military career through his garrison time and into Desert Shield, there remains an aura of credibility, although frankly some of the behavior depicted by the servicemen began to stretch the limits of what was believable based on what I knew of military life. As Desert Shield drags on for months, the focus shifts to the emotional and psychological toll of wartime inactivity, which admittedly is more pronounced among sex-starved young men who know nothing but loneliness and boredom. Even so, these scenes become exaggerated and even caricatured by the onset of the Desert Storm phase.

Finally, the theme moves on to the futility and senselessness of war from the perspective of the average grunt on the ground. Again, there was some familiarity here for one who had lived through eight years of often nonsensical and contradictory military culture. However, some of the Marines' responses simply didn't jive with the reality of their circumstances, or reflect fairly on the immense professionalism that characterizes the modern U.S. military, both now and during the early 90s when this story takes place.

Oddly enough, for a "war movie" this had almost no violence in it whatsoever. It is much more of a character study and a psychological inquiry into the nature of young men trained to fight and kill. It renders an indictment of high-level military leadership which, while true, is also one-sided. In short, this story offers up heavy doses of both reality and exaggeration, and it is up to the viewer to try to sort out which is which. For people with military experience that shouldn't be too hard, but others will likely walk away with a distorted view of our armed forces. July 27, 2008

Doesn't Represent the Marines I Know

I read the book and thought that a movie about Desert Shield/Desert Storm would be interesting. The special effects and photography were great. especially the scenes of the famous destroyed cars and busses of the poor folks who attempted to flee Kuwait and the burning oil wells. The war and the locale is probably pictured accurately but the Marine unit personnel portrayed in the movie didn't act like any of the soldiers, Marines, and sailors I had the privilege to serve with for 22 years. The guys in the movie were a bunch of Hollywood sterotyped animals. They constantly fought among themselves and seemed to have IQ's that seldom exceeded 80. The "why am I here?" theme for the "hero" of this wasted evolution goes on and on ad nauseum. It was difficult to have any degree of pride for this collection of disorganized misfits and if this is the Marine Corps of the 1990's and beyond God save us. If you want to see soldiers, officers, and Sargeants as they actually are, please watch WE WERE SOLDIERS. July 16, 2008

Pure Hollywood hype...at its worst!

I agree with most of the other "one star" "been there" reviews. This movie is almost pure hype ... in its lowest form. I recently purchased this DVD on sale for $5 locally just to see what it had to show. It starts out in similar vein to "Biloxi Blues," but quickly looses itself in the surreal and the outright dishonest. I ended the drudge quickly by fast forwarding to the return home scenes of predictable disappointment and despair. It is what it is - a work of mediocre fiction, not worth $5 in the Wal-Mart discount bin. I am not an ex-Marine, but I met many and shipped with hundreds, (post Desert Storm, albeit), even spent time in a desert tent city, and never witnessed behavior even close to what's portrayed in this film.

Tried to watch it one more time, but stopped it after a few minutes, cut it up, and threw it in the garbage. Probably one of the worst movies ever made. June 11, 2008

Jarhead

Tough reality at boot camp. learn respect the hard way. Great build up with out final delivery. June 2, 2008

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