Jarhead – Blu-ray Review

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this tale of the Marines fighting in the Gulf War. It may be based on the memoirs of a real Marine, but it feels like many other war films that have come before it. Though familiar, it is still finely acted and shows us a glimpse, through Hollywood’s eyes, of what our military men have to go through.

Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) joins up with the United States Marine Corp. because his father was a Marine and he really doesn’t know where to go with his life.

His time at boot camp is a hellish one and he’s eventually chosen by Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) to be one of the elite classes, a sniper. He’s teamed up with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), who is more devoted to the military than “Swoff.” However, “Swoff” begins to find his place in the sniper division and looks forward to the time when he’s able to put his training to use and see the “pink mist” of a clean kill. That time arrives when Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait and the U.S. military is called in to defend it. As with all wars, the boys soon learn that it’s not the glory that they might imagine and the results will have far reaching consequences for all of them. It can’t be easy to be in the military as this film based on the memoirs of Marine Anthony Swofford attests to. I think we tend to forget that sometimes. A crisp salute to anyone we see in military uniform is probably in order since they make the sacrifices to keep our country safe. It may be superfluous in comparison but they, like actors, have to sit around a wait quite a bit before they’re called on to do their jobs. That time can be maddening or boring in the extreme. These men are away from their families and relationships and they’re strained or even destroyed by the absence. They imagine imaginary men they dub “Jody’s” stealing their wives or girlfriends and sometimes that actually happens and causes even more stress. It’s not surprising that they sometimes break under the pressure as we see Swoff start to bend from the stress. There’s still a certain camaraderie in combat and the men do form some bonds as they battle.

Where the film may suffer is that we’ve seen a lot of this before. The boot camp scenes seem straight out of Full Metal Jacket and it’s ironic that Apocalypse Now plays during another scene in the film as a few of the character’s madness feel like Apocalypse Now Lite. War is ugly and the film shows us some of that ugliness. The middle part of the film is the best as the boys are involved in the Gulf War. The boot camp beginning and back at home codas are the parts that feel unrealized and tacked on. The film is finely acted with kudos going to Gyllenhaal, Foxx, and the rest of the cast but the beginning and ending bring down the middle. Jarhead is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). Sadly the only special features you get are a pair of audio commentaries (director Sam Mendes on one, screenwriter William Broyles, Jr. and Anthony Swofford on the other). They’re interesting to be sure, but the DVD had much more than that.

Jarhead is an interesting film, but it’s bogged down by some parts that don’t seem to mesh as a whole. It may be based on the true life adventures of one Marine, but the film ultimately fails to connect with the audience.