unrelenting, vulgar, and therefore fantastic

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2005)

Jarhead is a movie with great images but a lack of unity. The story tries to right itself with narration, but it still comes off as random in the end. Even so, the movie is stellar due to its unrelenting realism. If you ask, is the film more drama or action, it is most definitely drama, but the drama is simply through recklessness. The movie is very vulgar, and it fits thematically. Among an endless stream of explosions, burning corpses, incessant f-bombs, and male nudity, the film highlights the depravity of war and the insanity created in those fighting it. The acting in the film is fantastic, though there are some scenes taken right out of Apocalypse Now and Platoon. The movie is set to a popular music soundtrack, and it doesn't do much for the film. There are also some unneeded doses of fantasy. The film has flaws for the nit-picky, but its no-holds-barred attitude will endear it to most everyone.