Review: Jarhead

Rated R | 123 mins

IMDB Info

Is Jarhead some kind of elaborate, multi-million-dollar practical joke on this relatively unknown critic? Could it really be a Sam Mendes picture? ‘Cuz if the credits aren’t lying, I dunno what to think of the guy. He’s made two of my favorite films of the last decade, Road to Perdition and American Beauty, only to take a turn for the worst with Jarhead, a truly offensive, nihilistic piece of cinema. Focusing on day-to-day military life in the first Gulf War in a ridiculous way, Mendes’ film tritely suggests, in short, that every member of the Marine Corps is either a total psycho upon enlisting or they become one once they finish serving. Although, perhaps I’m going too far in making this synopsis. To say that Jarhead is trying to make a serious statement would be giving it too much credit. In actuality, all the movie really functions as is a straightforward, brain-dead, MTV-styled piece of crudity. The only reason that members of the media have allotted it as much positive buzz as they have is because it is able to disguise itself as a meditative character-study fairly well. Jarhead certainly isn’t getting the undeserved acclaim that it is because of its view of military operations, which is about as realistic as xXx’s take was on secret agents. If Mendes and his screenwriter, William Broyles Jr., had anything more to say than that they believe that the American government and the military supporting it are evil, it was clearly lost in the process of filming. What’s the most absurd about the picture is their claim that their protagonist (who is based on a real man), is scarred for life by war without even ever seeing combat. Not only have Mendes and Broyles put a great cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper) to shame; they’ve also shown the utmost of disrespect to the men and women who willingly, bravely fight for the United States’ freedom in the dangerous international political climate of today. “Welcome to the suck” is Jarhead’s tagline. It’s no stretch to call that the most accurate studio-penned description of a film in years.