Account of Anthony Swofford's experience in the Gulf War and what it was like to be a Jarhead.

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2005)

All war movies are the same. All war movies are different.
When I saw the commercial for Jarhead on TV, I was immediately interested. It was obviously a war movie, so that caught my interest; it had a good song (Jesus Walks by Kanye West) that caught my interest, and it seemed like it had a great cast (Jake Gyllenhall, Jamie Foxx), so that caught my interest as well. Hmmm, I guess I am very easy to manipulate.
Anyway, I walked into the theater realizing that I really had no idea what this movie was about. I knew it was based on a book by Anthony Swofford about his experiences in the Gulf War, but that's really it.
I couldn't stop laughing throughout the first forty five minutes. The whole movie had funny parts, but the first forty five minutes was hilarious. It's pretty much just all about Swofford joining the Marines and getting treated like garbage.
The funny thing is that even when the movie ended I still didn't really know what to think of it. But, for what it was, I greatly enjoyed it. It's pretty much just about Anthony Swofford (Gyllenhaal) and his experience in the Gulf war under Sgt. Sykes (Foxx) and his sniper buddy Troy (Peter Sarsgaard). Sarsgaard is great in this movie as well.
Swofford does not take any sides in this movie, or question why he is in Iraq in the first place. There is no politics involved, and there really isn't much drama involved either. It's really just all about the soldiers and what it was like to be a Jarhead.
If you're looking for a war movie that has Braveheart-like action, this movie is not for you. But it is definitely a very unique, entertaining movie. I'm not quite sure how much former soldiers who did fight in the Gulf War would like this movie. That's an interesting question. Oh yeah, it is also very funny, which I established earlier. I'd give in an 8/10 and I'd recommend this movie to any one.
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