Good movie

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 2005)

OK, I finally got to see Jarhead. I've been waiting sometime to see this film. I'm a big fan of Sam Mendes, having love both American Beauty and Road to Perdition. I also like war movies as well, my favorites being Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, and Black Hawk Down. Upon seeing the trailer, a friend of mine noted that this looked like "Platoon, only in Desert Storm". Sure enough, it did. So, color me surprised when I read an Entertainment Weekly article which said, "A War movie with no combat, mostly waiting." I thought What? What kind of movie is that? Still, I went anyways, thinking it might at least be kinda good. Sure, this movie takes its time getting to its point, but it helps to put you in the mindset of the Marines. BTW, I've been reading some of the posts on here about this movie having no politics, and being anti-American. This is stupid, obviously these people did not understand the film. The point was, at least to my understanding, that you have to sacrifice yourself, who you are, to become a killer for the Marines. You hope you do it for a good reason, to protect your country. The guy here, however, ultimately thought he sacrificed everything and got nothing. This is not anti-Amercian. Maybe an unflattering look at Marines, but this guy still loved his country and wanted to serve it, but was never given a chance. There also seemed to be a slight commentary on the ridiculousness of war, but it wasn't a main focus. This is a great film.