Jarhead

Rated R

Based on the 2003 book written by Marine sniper Anthony Swofford, following his enlistment into the military, boot camp, and his deployment during the Gulf War.

Using flashback techniques the film goes through of how he came from a strong military background to being a terrified uncertain soldier while under fire.

Original Story Synopsis:

Movie-Pix Best Guess:

While the book is an interesting read, it's hard to tell how well this will translate onto the big screen.
Jake Gyllenhaal just doesn't come across as a tough marine.

A film probably best for those hardcore war movie lovers as it is Rated R with foul language, violent images and sexual content.

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By Todd Karella
November 4, 2005

~A film about Jarheads for Jarheads~

It’s hard to talk about a film that is truly about nothing. There’s no story progression, no character connection and nothing that really stands out about the film.
The best summation is that it’s like watching a bunch of frat boys running around in the Iraqi desert with absolutely no purpose.
   It’s difficult to feel any sympathy as they never see any actual combat and instead spend most of the time goofing around. Hell, they never even fire their weapons.
   While most war films have some kind of message, this one had nothing. And even though it told one man’s story, it wasn’t one that needed to be told.
   If the United States wasn’t currently having issues in the Middle East the film would never have been made.   And as far as the audience was concerned, it was a waste of their two hours as much as the war was a waste to those marines.

The closest the film comes to any action is when Swofford and his spotter are sent to an airfield to assassinate a couple high ranking Iraqi officials. Just as they are about to take their shot, their mission is scrubbed so that the airfield can be taken out by an air strike. It adds a little tension as the two men nearly go mad with having their kill taken away.
The rest of the film bounces around them walking through burning oil fields, playing a game of football for the television cameras and having a drunken Christmas party where Swofford runs around naked and the party is interrupted when a soldier accidentally starts a fire near an ammo depot.
If you’re looking for much else, you will be disappointed. The only people who could enjoy this film are those who went through the same experience.

The film follows one Jarhead, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) from boot camp, to his appointment as a sniper and through the entire Gulf War. There’s already been a number of excellent movies on the horrors of boot camp and the initiation into the

military, so there wasn’t anything new added by this film.
Once they arrive in Iraq, they find themselves waiting. The U.S. air supremacy is so dominating that there is nothing left for them to do. So they sit, wait, masturbate, worry about who their girlfriend is sleeping with back home and masturbate some more.
Yeah, I’m sure every American is excited about how their tax dollars are being spent. After seeing this film you can even understand how some of our soldiers can be accused of doing some pretty stupid things. After all, they are a bunch of kids with too much time on their hands.

Movie-Pix Hit or Miss

Best Guess Results:

Saying that a war movie needs more violence is completely unheard of...Until now.

Slow and boring from beginning to end. A film completely about nothing and with nothing new or special to say.