Based on Anthony Swofford’s excellent memoir about his experiences as a Marine Sniper in Gulf War I, Jarhead is a war movie in which the waiting is a far greater factor upon the characters than the war itself, and the build up to combat is more drama than what combat is depicted. To some viewers hoping for typical movie action, this will seem like a cruel joke. But it’s not. It’s just the story as it was written, and if you liked the book, you will probably like the movie. If you didn’t, then the movie won’t change your mind.

The movie follows the trajectory of Swofford (played with thoughtful intensity by Jake Gyllenhaal) from wayward Marine recruit (he joined because he "got lost on the way to college") to skilled Marine sniper, and on into the desert in preparation for the attack on Iraq. No-nonsense, Marine-for-life Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx), the man who recruited Swofford and his spotter Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) into the sniper team, leads them in training, and in waiting where their lives are dominated by endless tension, pointless exercises in absurdity (like playing football in the scorching heat of the desert in their gas masks so it will look better for the media’s TV cameras), more training, and constant anticipation of the moment to come when they’ll finally get to kill. When the war does come, it moves too fast for Swofford’s sniper team, and the one chance they get at a kill--to do the one thing they’ve trained so hard and waited so long for--eludes them, leaving them to wonder what was the point of all they had endured.

As directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty), the movie remains very loyal to the language and vision of the book, but it doesn’t entirely work as the film needs something more than a literal translation to bring out its full potential. Mendes’s stark and, at times, apocalyptic visuals add a lot and strike the right tone: wide shots of inky-black oil raining down on the vast, empty desert from flaming oil wells contrasted with close-ups of crude-soaked faces struggling through the mire vividly bring to life the meaning of the tagline "welcome to the suck." But much of the second half of the movie will probably leave some viewers feeling disappointed in the cinematic experience, while others might appreciate its microcosmic depiction of modern chaos and aimlessness. Jarhead is one of those examples where the book is better than the movie, but not for lack of trying. --Dan Vancini

Customer Rating:
Summary: American Boredom: Every War is the Same
Comment: American Boredom: Every War is the Same

There is a mantra within the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) community that the work is defined by extended periods of intense boredom interrupted by occasional moments of sheer terror. The same has been said, I believe, of war (and marriage too perhaps). This is the primary message that is being made within this finely crafted piece on modern warfare. That and what this sort of pattern does to a man's psyche. However there are many other specific points of consideration that are touched upon during the film within this larger contextual premise.

One of the strengths of `Jarhead' is that is manages to maintain a healthy comedic tone throughout most of its entirety. The humor is, though at times perhaps crude, nonetheless true to life and consistent with the type that emerges from within the safety of the camaraderie found in such a setting. To compare this film to Full Metal jacket is unfair. FMJ was iconic with its brutal depiction of basic training and the preparations for war. Attempts at humor were minimal when present at all. `Jarhead' is not only unique with its contrary approach but highly effective in making its points along the way. Its gradual progression into a more serious piece of work correlates with the transition of the young men in the film into active war combatants. It's logical artistically and it works.

The acting is strong throughout, anchored by Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Fox, and talented more unknowns like Lucas Black and Chris Cooper in supporting roles. The points within the film, aside from the central aforementioned premise, relate to political motivations for war (like oil), suicide/mental health issues in combat veterans, friendly fire concerns, and the masturbatory practices of young men in isolation. It is at times tragic but the humor is what keeps it together and smooths the consumption of the more serious topics broached.

Mendes exhibited his mastery previously with `American Beauty' and he does so again in a polar opposite setting. Do yourself and favor and check out `Jarhead'. Amidst the regular clutter of banal mediocrity in modern film and the overpopulated collection of similar war movies, lies this treasure. A thinking man's piece if not a masterpiece. And a fine one at that.

-Rusty Scalpel

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Jarhead - Blu-ray Info
Comment: Version: U.S.A / Region A, B, C
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
VC-1 BD-25 / Advanced Profile 3
Running time: 2:02:50
Movie size: 21,42 GB
Disc size: 22,05 GB
Average video bit rate: 15.91 Mbps
Number of chapters: 20

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3840 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3840 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

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E.U / Japan

DTS 5.1 : German / French / Italian / Spanish / Japanese
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 : English

Subtitles: German, English SDH, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Danish, Norwegisch, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Greek

#Audio commentary
#Swoffs fantasies
#Interviews
#Deleted Scenes
#Jarhead records
#Background Info
#Semper Fi documentary
#My scenes

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Every Man Fights His Own War
Comment: This movie is hugely underrated, and often poorly misrepresented. At least it appears so from a lot of these reviews.
Perhaps as others have said, it was and still is marketed incorrectly, as some believe the absence of "War-like Violence" leaves much to be desired.
But define war?? At least in its true, non text book sense and this movie will speak volumes.
It's an incredibly intelligent, poignant and heartbreakingly honest film, driven by 'the wait' for an enemy that never emerged.
Perhaps our ignorance for such a film proves our ignorance towards the true mechanisms and often extreme waste that war is.
Mission to kill?
We seem to forget the stories of those who did nothing but kill time in the desert.
As the film concludes; "He will always remain, a jarhead. And all the jarheads, killing and dying, they will always be me...
We are still in the desert"
5 stars...
If you're intelligent enough to understand it, you'll never forget it

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting Movie
Comment: Too bad HD-DVD is dead, but if you still own a player, this is a great movie for the price. I think those of us who are soldiers and have been to Iraq can understand this movie a little better than those who haven't. Some of the scences can be too close to home and somewhat overbearing for non-military viewers, but helps to remind us how much of a sacrifice we made in both wars. The picture quality and sound delivers, though this more of an enhanced DVD than a true HD movie.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Really wants to be Apocalypse Now...
Comment: If you want a war move that probes the depths of madness and incorporates surerealism while exploring the lives of soldiers trapped in a pointless microcosm of a wider war, you have two options. Get a pretty lame and boring variation on this theme in Jarhead, or get Apocalypse Now. The later is the infinitely better choice.

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