JARHEAD...Powerful, Unforgettable SEMPER FI...

Rating: 9/10 (11 November 2005)

Sam Mendes has delivered a film that really hits home today with the present situation in Iraq and the glimpse into the world of hell which makes a "Marine, a Marine" and provides the audience with a visual story of a young Marine, Jake Gyllenhaal, and his journey through boot camp to the reality of war.
Jamie Foxx is simply brilliant and his Marine Sargent propels the story forward and combines not only strength of command, but a sense of what it takes to be a Marine. And Peter Sarsgaard delivers a compelling performance of a troubled Marine who wants to succeed in the Corps more than anything despite his past.
The scenes in the battlefield, the oil fires and the reality of war hitting home on the young Marines faces made an impression on me and the audience at The Grove in Los Angeles, and I thought immediately of our current Marines and what they face today in the "second" war in Iraq.
Jake Gyllenhaal grows into a strong young man and fights his own devils in his role as JARHEAD comes to its sad conclusion, and Jake's Marine represents what it must be like to be a Marine, never forgetting for one moment "The Corps" and the values and comradeship made as a Marine which stays with you for life in the meaning of SEMPER FI.
JARHEAD is an important American story and film and kudos to Sam Mendes for his direction of this chapter of Marine history.