a pleasant surprise

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2006)

i had no interest in seeing jar head.judging by all the previews,i thought it would be just another boring war movie,at best.however,my buddy had taped it so we decided to give it a try.after all, we had just sat through the train wreck that was silent hill,and it couldn't be any worse.turns out, it was quite a well done movie.its depiction of a company of marines and their lives, during dessert shield and dessert storm,was, i'm sure, an accurate portrayal of military life.giving this movie extra credence is that it is adapted from a novel by Anthony Swofford, who was himself a marine during both dessert shield and dessert storm.The book and the movie chronicle his experience during that time.and while the producers may have taken some dramatic liberty,i believe it does stick close to the facts.Jake Gyllenhall does well as the title character,and Jamie Foxx is very strong as Staff Sgt.Sykes his,commanding officer.Peter Sarsgarrd is also strong as Troy, a fellow marine and friend.and i can't forget Chris Cooper who has a small and memorable role as well,which he infuses with his usual brilliance.I believe the filmmakers did a good job depicting life as a marine waiting for action in Kuwait.the film is well paced, and tightly directed,with very few unnecessary scenes.there are also touches of humour injected into the film.for a movie of this genre,it is surprisingly lighthearted for the most part.it did not feel heavy handed at all,and did not have the cloud of depression hanging over it as most war themed movies do.it did have its dramatic moments of course, but these moments did not oppressively choke the film.all in all, a solid,entertaining piece of work.