Not what I expected.

Rating: 5/10 (5 August 2006)

If you want to see a tough, blood and guts war film then this movie certainly is not for you.
To be honest, that is exactly what I was expecting to see when I sat down to watch this movie. However, what I did see did not disappoint me in the least and it turned out to be a really nice and enjoyable surprise.
The story follows a young American marine (a "jarhead") from his time in boot camp through to and during his time in the Gulf War.
There were some very powerful scenes in the movie - one of which was quite sickening which portrayed the aftermath of a massacre in an isolated encampment in the desert.
The film did a very good job of portraying the stress the young marines were under - with tempers boiling over and the true desire and red-blooded appetite to get out into the action and experience the harsh realities of battle and war.
This film reminded me of the reasons why I would never have joined the armed forces. The stick and abuse these young kids got from their sergeants and other superiors was terrible, and definitely would not be something that I would be able to tolerate in any way, shape or form.
I would recommend this movie to anybody, but like I said, don't go expecting a movie full of battles and blood-shed because this ain't it.