Anti-war?

Rating: 6/10 (4 March 2006)

It's hard to decide whether JARHEAD, ostensibly about the Gulf War, is pro- or anti-war. What it really is about is the day-to-day life of a Marine, and that includes an awful lot of sitting around, waiting for something to do. Hurry up and wait, I believe is what they call it. Like sitting in the doctor's office for an hour, waiting to be examined for three minutes. But these guys never even get their three minutes. Even during the height of Desert Storm war, the Marines in this picture find they have little or nothing to do, as the war always seems to be two steps ahead of them. In this telling, based on the memoirs of ex-Marine Anthony Swofford, it turns out to be an air war, and our boys are stuck on the ground. In the end, the film is really about personalities, and for better or worse we have seen these same personalities in a hundred other war pictures. The best of those flicks has been and remains the first half of FULL METAL JACKET. Watch JARHEAD for Jake Gyllenhall as Swofford, a very different character from DONNIE DARKO, his best known role. Gyllenhall's costar, Jamie Foxx as a platoon sergeant, turns in a pale imitation of Lou Gossett in AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN. Chris "Twin Peaks" Cooper has a cameo as a commanding officer, but isn't given anywhere enough screen time to register. Dennis "24/Allstate" Haysbert shows up for about 10 seconds as another officer.