War is Dull (So is this Film)

Rating: 3/10 (4 November 2005)

Sam Mendes does not make many films so when he does, expectations are high. "Jarhead" is a highly critical look at the United States Marine Corps based on a book by a slacker ex-Marine. Apparently Sam Mendes, a Briton, does not like the Marines.
This film might say more about a non-American's view of the American military than anything else. At one point in the film the narrator says "We are all insane...," pauses, then finishes the sentence. That pretty much sums up the entire film and for 2 hours we watch what idiots these people are. There are no likable or sympathetic characters in the entire film.
Overall, this does not make for a very entertaining film. The first 10 minutes are pretty funny but after that it gets to be the same thing over and over.
The film is not very original and there are several references to older, better films about the United States military. Like some of those other films, this one uses substantial use of pop music of the time period depicted in the film and it gets really annoying if you don't like that type of music. The film is noisy despite no actual combat scenes.
The acting and photography are first rate. If you are a Chris Cooper fan, he is in the movie for only about 2 minutes.
Many Americans are going to hate this film because of the way it depicts the United States Marine Corps. I didn't like it because it was dull,annoying, and derivative.