To me, war movies tend to always be either extremely well made (my favorites are "Full Metal Jacket" and "Three Kings") or just steaming piles of crap with no real purpose (I happen to have an extreme dislike for 2002's "Windtalkers").  Luckily, Sam Mendes' "Jarhead" falls in to the first category and may well be one of the year's best, at least in the Top 10.

A "jarhead," as said by Private Swoffard (Jake Gyllenhaal), is a marine whose head is an empty jar just waiting to be filled by the promises and orders of the United States army.  They are blind, emotionless, and basically act as tools in the grand sceme of things.  Basically, they are described as the perfect soldier, doing what they are told and not asking questions.  Hell, they might even have a bit of fun doing just that.

Swoff, though, is torn on the inside.  From the very get-go, we see various scenes that tear up Swoff's ideal view of the marines.  One moment, he is getting yelled at by a drill sergeant who is consistantly tapping the back of his head.  The next, he is getting shit faced in a tent on Christmas Eve.  This is the type of movie where the main characters are not set up in the beginning and then act a certain way throughout the rest of the film.  Instead, these characters are constantly changing and growing and by end, well, they're still changing and growing.

Alot has been said about how "Jarhead" does not find a voice of its own, and instead sits back and dodges real issues.  To this, I ask what movie other critics where watching?  I think one of the biggest reasons I liked this film was that very few points are beaten across and in to your head.  Instead, director Mendes uses some very powerful imagery and un-spoken dialogue to set the mood in the opinions of the character.  And when one character does begin to question the politics of the conflict, he is answered with this:

"F**k politics.  We're here now.  Everything else is bullsh*t."

And, as I already said, some of the images presented are truly amazing.  Take, for example, the raining oil or the soldier at the end of the film, throwing his clothing into a bon fire, shouting out, "It's over!  We're never coming back here again!"  Some powerful, unseen things lie beneath the surface too.  We're "treated" to the scene of a man at his breaking point sobbing horrifically.  Why?  He didn't get to kill anyone.  There is also a comical, yet at the same time wholly disturbing view of a group of soldiers, watching "Apocalypse Now" and applauding wildly as innocent people are nepalmed.

"F**k politics" may be a bit of a recurring theme of the film, but there is still just enough present to make this one solid.  It also helps that there are some very fine performances, and not just from leads Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.  Who knew that the star of "Bait" and "Booty Call" would someday be such a great, dramatic actor?  If Jamie Foxx does not recieve another Oscar nod for his portrayal of Staff Sgt. Sykes, it would be a true crime.  The man plays the best dick headed Sergeant since R. Lee Ermey.

The only real complaint on this one is that it does a cover some familiar territory.  The boot camp scenes are very similar to "Full Metal Jacket," as are some of the war scenes.  In fact, much of this movie owes its artistic merit to Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam opus.  Still, there is enough fresh material and ideas presented, that it seems like it is its' own film standing out all by itself.

A fantastic job done by all.  And, no matter your political iffiliation or your view on the current situation in Iraq (which, by the way, is not the focus of "Jarhead," but rather the Desert Storm of 1990), I'm sure there is something for all to be captivated by.  A perfect score.

**** out of ****

I was waiting for someone to post a review of this. It looked good in the previews. I'll check it out.

I agree! This was an exellant film!

*WARNING... POSSIBLE SLIGHT SPOILERS*










I liked how they make you like all the characters and non of them die. I am sick and tired of having these characters I love die in a surprise attack. It pisses me off! But that didnt happen and almost all the characters lived which is a relief. I loved american beauty and this is just as good... worth a watch at least twice in my book.

It was good, but there were too many naked guy scenes I could have done without.

Unless it's pornographic, male nudity has never really effected my opinion of a movie.  You seen one, you've seen them all, you know?

Utter garbage. This movie is just begging for clip of the week reel where Bill Mahar and Bill O'reilly will tear it to shreds for all it does so incredibly wrong.

This, like RAMBO movies and RED DAWN and all the other movies like FULL METAL JACKET, before them and after, are all one thing... PROPAGANDA flicks.

I was drug to see this one... SAW 2 "again" or DOOM or this... I chose this... boy I was wrong. Way wrong.

I didn't like anyone in the movie, for one. I hate JAKE whatever his name is... he's a glapo kwang if ever there was one. He's a non acting mother fucker. I think BUBBLE BOY still sits in the back of my mouth permiting a bad taste... what about you all?

Anyways, this movie tried so hard to be so against the grain and confides of what the good ol' U.S.A. "SAYS" it stands for that it turned out to be a parody of every damn war movie before it. I was so tired of this movie by the 40 minute mark I wanted to shoot myself.

This movie's name says it all and any who buy into it are exactly just that... JAR HEADS~

End of story. This was a jab at the rebublicans as much as it was anything. more Propaganda to fuel the "I HATE BUSH" bandwagon.  That's another thing that really bothers me... like him, love him or hate him... GEORGE BUSH is our man... he's out president and we seem to be under the impression by everyone the man can do nothing right.

Why is this? I know this has nothing to do with the movie, but still... c'mon, I heard people "mostly blacks" bashing him and lashing out against him cause he didn't go to ROSA PARKS fuggin'  funeral... ??? Should he have? I mean, this is the president of the U.S. I think he has more important issues than to attend a funeral for someone he has no ties to what so ever and all she really did was do what anyone should have done... Tell the person to go to hell and find their own seat.

George Bush could save a bus load of 2 year olds from going over a cliff, then race down the mountain and resscue drowning nuns from the rapids of the colorado river and still not be good enough. He'd still be an ass hole in everyones eyes.

Bakc on topic after the rant... If you liked this movie, you are a hollywood drone, who's already been brainwashed into believing the bigger picture is really in color and not black and white. When the whole goddamn time it's been the later.

I found this one to actually be rather refreshing in that it did not seem to have a political agenda.  For every character that speaks ill of the war, there is one that finds a good reason to be there.  And at no point would I call this propaganda.  "Fahrenheit 9/11" was propaganda with its fake newspaper clips and gratuitous shots of dead babies.  

Instead, "Jarhead" showed wars as they happen; yes, there are dead bodies lying around, but that is exactly what is seen everyday in the Middle East.  I found Swoff's sit down with the burnt corpses in a circle one of the most haunting images put on film in a long time.  Still, there was no real opinions presented on one side.  There were a few soldiers that said how they feel it is necessary to be there; there were others that referred to it as "the suck" at a constant rate.  And I'm sure that is exactly the way it is in reality.

And, as for this being anti-Bush, I don't see how that could be.  This takes place when Bush Jr.'s father was in office, during Desert Storm.  And while it still ties into the war today, I found that this was really more about the soldiers' experiences, and less about the conflict itself.  Like somebody had already said, this isn't your average war flcik where you get to know the characters and they start dying off in the middle of action.  This is about those same characters and their inactions.  Any second, I was expecting somebody to be killed off (specifically during the Christmas Eve scene and one of the soldiers is frying a sausage).  It just never happened, and, for that alone, I give this film major credit for going against the usual war movie motifs.

God, i hated this movie. i would have walked out but i was stuck with my friends.

Is it "realistic"?? yeah i guess, but thats not necessarily a good thing. I think Balt hit the nail on the head when he said this is just hollywood democratic propaganda to pile on top of Bush. I dont like him much either, but when hollywood goes politics... its like Jessica Simpson going into acting....  

personally i wish they'd all shut the F**K up and keep their politics to themselves.

when i go to the movies i want to be entertained or moved emotionally by the story. ironically this movie evokes the same emotions from the viewers as its characters are going through .... frustrated, bored, waiting for action that never comes, and wanting to jerk-off to pass the time.

if that was Sam Mendez's point then he succeeded.


major suckage here.

I loved this movie. One of my favourite movies from 2005. I'm a huge fan of Sam Mendes (American Beauty being one of my all time favourites) and I think he did a really good on job of crafting a very unusual, interesting war movie. I like Jake Gyllenhaal a lot whatrever he may be doing and I thought he carried the movie well. The supporting cast was strong, the movie moved very quickly, at least it did to me. Plus, the movie was visually stunning. The shots are so well-composed and so well-lit, that there were some shots that made me gasp at just how beautiful they were. If you've seen Road To Perdition, you'll know that this is a Mendes special. He and his cinematographer have painted a rich, beautiful palette in which I loved spending two hours of my life.

"Jarhead" is not your typical war movie, which is probably the thing I liked about it most. "Saving Private Ryan", as well-made as it may be, is a typical war movie. Big battles, lots of gore, sad ending, and some scenes that will make those pure-blood, overly-proud Americans stand up and applaud. The film would be terrible if it weren't so technically brilliant and if Tom Hanks had no involvment (yeah, ya heard me). At least, that is what I've always thought. Jarhead is a different kind of war movie, the story of the guys who sat around and did nothing might not seem interesting at first glance, but I would rather watch this movie than "Flags of our Fathers" because it ignores the typical war movie mold and does something different. A lot of people may have had problems with it, but I applaud it. It's a fantastic movie. It looks great, it sounds great, the performances are great and, if this were my movie. I would be incredibly proud of it.


Cheers, Chismeister.

I dont undertstand the people saying this movie was Political propaganda as was mentioned before for every character that talked bad about the war there were ones that said otherwise..

I personally liked the movie but i didnt think it was great nor did i think it was terrible i would give it a 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 5..