Not your average war movie

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2006)

I'd heard mixed things about Harhead. Someone I knew had seen it, and they really liked it. I'd also heard that there was lots of useless sex in it that detracted from the story. Reviews from critics were mixed too, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I almost didn't go, but then I decided to what the heck, I'll check it out, and see what all the fuss was about.
After thinking about it I'm gonna give this movie a 7/10. It was not your typical war movie at all. The entire movie was basically about how a certain marine, Jake Gyllenhall, had to wait almost half a year for action to start for him and his platoon in the Gulf War. He trained to be a sniper during that whole time, and he finally gets his chance to get in combat, about an hour and a half into the movie.
I won't say anything else, lest the movie is spoiled for you, but it's just about a marine's life, basically, with a particular emphasis on how they're waiting for the action of the Gulf War to start. Though it could be called a war movie, there are less than twenty minutes of combat in a two hour movie. Character development is extremely well done, and we see deep into the lives of these soldiers quite effectively.
The reason I docked off 3 points was because of several things. One was the useless, kind of extraneous sex. Though it was a definite part of the storyline, they could have done without showing a lot. At one point I felt like I was watching pornography, and that's never a good thing, even if it does contribute to the storyline. The ending was also a little off, but I personally liked it.
So, if you're curious to see what all the fuss is about, go see Jarhead. However, it's not the kind of movie you need to rush out and see. You can definitely wait until it hits DVD.