Underrated with a sense of originality

Rating: 9/10 (3 June 2006)

Sam Mendes was a wonder kid. He managed to pull in five Oscars for his debut feature, American Beauty, including Best Picture and Best Director. I was never a big fan of the film, but nevertheless, stood in awe at the achievement. Luckily, I fared better with his fantastic follow-up Road to Perdition. Of course, it only pulled in one Oscar (for the astonishing cinematography of course). When his third film, Jarhead, came out last year, I was fairly enthusiastic. I enjoyed it the first time I saw it, but it did not seem to be a shared sentiment among others. After watching it a second time, I have realized that it was still as good as the first time I saw it.
The film starts off with Swoff (Jake Gyllenhaal) in boot camp. The scene is fairly Full Metal Jacket-esquire with the abusive drill sergeant, and the recruits not really knowing how to handle it. This quickly moves into Swoff being deployed to marine training with his new staff sergeant (Jamie Foxx). After going through his extended training, the troops are sent out to Iraq to become ready for what would become Operation: Desert Storm. None of the troops in the desert believe they will be there for very long, but they get more than they ask for.
I really am still unsure what people did not like about this movie. There were great performances from Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, a great cameo from Chris Cooper, and a much more Oscar worthy performance from Gyllenhaal. The editing, cinematography and screenplay are all top notch, and feel genuine in their sentiments of making the deserts of Iraq feel totally real (and it frightens me to know that there are parts of California, where they shot the film, that look like that). Mendes continued his streak of directing great films, and it looked like the film would pull in at least a few nominations come Oscar time.
But the film came and went, and it really just seemed like they had finally rejected the wonder kid.
There are numerous ideas as to why this happened, but none strikes me as a possible explanation more than it being advertised as a war film, and being more about the people in the war, than the war itself.
All wars are the same, and all are just as senseless as the next. We have learned this through history and Mendes amps this ideal up throughout the entirety of the film. The troops get pumped up for going to Iraq by watching the village bombing scene from Apocalypse Now. They even hum along to the "Rise of the Valkyries". A marine gets The Deer Hunter sent to him while he's stationed in Iraq, and everyone crowds around to watch it. Swoff and others get upset going through the desert, and having helicopters fly by playing music from the Vietnam war. They want an original war, but they know they cannot have it. Going on would only ruin what happens as the film progresses.
Yes, the film has its boring points. And yes, the pacing is not consistent in many sequences. But Mendes wanted to be different, and he managed to pull it off. It just seems like no one liked his real attempt at originality. But do not let the bad reviews allow you to not see this fine work. If anything, let it make you want to see it more. It's a great film, and is heavily underrated. I can only hope it becomes more appreciated in time.
9/10.