Unlike any war movie I've EVER seen

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2005)

I walked out of this movie just completely blown away by how good it really was. Jarhead is the story of Anthony Swofford, who at the age of 20 years old enlisted in the marines. Academy Award Winner Sam Mendes directs this OUTSTANDING film.
I would like to call this one of the most realistic war movies, this side of The Great Raid. If most of you guys have seen the movie Three Kings, this would be the other side of that movie. Jarhead isn't any traditional war movie most people will see. It focuses on the soldiers instead of the war, giving it one of the most unsettling effects you will experience.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Anthony Swofford, a person who enters the marines as a normal guy with depressive qualities surrounding him. Gyllenhaal gives an Academy Award caliber performance because what he went through in the corps changed him completely. Gyllenhaal shows his emotional range, he's an emotional roller-coaster in this movie, and what he is in the end is nothing short of breath taking. Swofford walks in the corps not wanting to be there, but that all changes in the end.
Peter Sarsgaard plays CPL Alan Troy, Swofford's best friend and staff corporal. Sarsgaard gives his most complete performance in this movie, stepping his skills up for director Sam Mendes. You can count on an Oscar nomination for Sarsgaard, and I will be deeply surprised if he doesn't get one for this movie.
Jamie Foxx plays Staff Sgt Sykes, a family man who is DEEPLY faithful to the corps. You can see it in his every move, and even Foxx even states that he loves his job.
This movie shows us people that war isn't as glorified as we think it is from all that influence us. This is still certainly a war movie, because the war itself is present in all the scenes, yet it gives us a realistic look at what REALLY goes on in a war. You can count on some Academy Award nominations for this movie as well, for picture, supporting actor, director, cinematography and editing at the least.
This movie is a masterpiece, 10/10.