A war movie with no plot - and yet good

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2006)

At first, it seemed that this movie was trying to be Full Metal Jacket, Thin Red Line and Platoon all at once. I was wrong, it wasn't simply trying to be anything else but an adaptation of Anthony Swofford's book. And it was fine. Never read the book, so I can't do comparisons.
First of all, there is no plot, and probably even no agenda. It's simply a story. The scenes are powerful at best and generally well done, and they hold some space for the viewer to think about them, it's not just things happening with haste. As said above, It's not like the movie is trying to tell you something, it just tries make you feel and think. You can really put yourself into several characters' position at times - even though the characters never come close, and they feel a bit distant.
You may think that when a movie has no strong plot, it may be just a confusing bunch of scenes, which have nothing to do with each other. This isn't the case - you get a clear grip on what's happening all the time and "Jarhead" doesn't confuse its viewer.
Visually "Jarhead" is an impressive film. It looks somewhat like Black Hawk Down all the way - which is not a bad thing. There are some beautiful and stunning scenes. The burning oil wells making the sky black while the sun is trying to get through the thick smoke - beautiful and ugly at the same time. There are some dream-like scenes too and they serve their purpose.
This is not a movie where everything explodes and everyone dies, quite the opposite. If you expect constant shooting and intense battles, you may not like this film. But hey, we've seen enough of those, haven't we? The strong parts of this movie are also the weakest - there is no plot, or no message at all. It gives the viewer a chance to replace him-/herself with the character(s) and experience everything in a certain personal way, but on the other hand it's not that rewarding in the end.
Recommended. Not a war movie in a sense that we only get little or no battles at all, but...I'm just repeating myself here, aren't I? Try it yourself, you might appreciate it. I think this is one of those films for which you have to be in a certain mood to enjoy yourself.