More than meets the eye

Rating: 7/10 (5 November 2005)

Mendes is most famous for directing films which defy social norm in terms of genre. American Beauty transcended the usual pigeonholes constructed by the modern movie-making community, and Jarhead follows suit.
I would not classify Jarhead as a war movie except by merit that it takes place during Desert Storm and involves United States Marines. Jarhead is a movie about people and what war (and the military mindset) does to the human beings who fight it, not about how much theater blood and computer-generated carnage they can cram into 120 minutes. If this is what you expect, then save your money.
Taken not as what one might like it to be and rather what it is, I find Jarhead to be, while no means perfect, a fitting addition to the modern war movie library. The acting and cinematography are exceptional; Jamie Foxx adds a very nice touch to the lineup as the Staff Sergeant in charge of the other "jarheads." Character development is meticulous, sometimes too much so at the cost of pace, but in the end the effort is not in vain.
I think the biggest drawback to the film's potential success is its somewhat misleading nature: a movie about Marines in Desert Storm demands violence abound, and this is no doubt what many people will see it for. In their unfulfilled expectation of this, they will miss the underlying subtleties each well-acted, beautifully shot scene has to offer. Many will jeer it as a film attempting to reproduce Full Metal Jacket and failing miserably, but chances are those people never saw American Beauty and don't see films for artistic value. In fact, I would even consider the movie to be anti-climactic, but again, that's assuming expectations that the film never promised to begin with.
Not Mendes' finest movie, but far from terrible and one I found very enjoyable.