Review of Jarhead (2005) by Jemma D — 29 Mar 2011

If you're looking for two hours of explosions, detached limbs flying through the air, and blood and guts, then don't see this movie. You will be disappointed. "Jarhead" is not your typical war movie. Many great war movies of the past tell stories of soldiers almost going insane because of the violence and death they have been cast into. This film shows how being in war with the lack of any action at all can have the same effect.

This movie digs deep into its characters as it follows their quest for glory and war through Desert Storm. This quest begins to become an obsession as the soldiers are driven to their limits by boredom of waiting for their time to fight and the paranoia that their wives and girl friends at home are being unfaithful. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Tony Swofford, a marine sniper who, like his fellow soldiers, only wants a little taste of war to make up for all the miserable training he has gone through.

Jake Gyllenhaal really impressed me with his role in this movie. He gives an amazing performance, as does the supporting cast including Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx as Sgt. Sykes. This movie shows an ironic side to war. Being forced to fight can kill a man, but not being able to fight has its effects also. "Jarhead" shows that every war is different but even if you don't fire one bullet, war is war and it sticks with you forever. As Swofford says "Every war is different, every war is the same." An excellent movie.