Jarhead (2005) 7/10

Starring : Jake Gyllenhaal, Scott MacDonald, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx
Director : Sam Mendes
Running Time : 123 mins

Anthony Swofford (Gyllenhaal) joins the marines and suffers through the gruel of boot camp, only to be shipped out to Saudi Arabia at the outbreak of the Gulf War. His experiences at both peace and war time don’t seem to be that different, as in both circumstances he finds himself being indiscriminately shot out by the enemy and his so-called drill instructors, whilst being forced to pander to the media by putting on a brave face at the prospect at his own possible death.

This was to the Gulf War what Buffalo Soldiers was to the Cold War, except on a smaller scale. Where Buffalo Soldiers played as an out and out farce, this tried to lace the humour with a more serious note, which unfortunately watered down the overall message in my opinion. Still, this remains a very entertaining war film which manages to give an apparently accurate portrayal of life on the front lines from someone who was actually there.

You’ll like this if you liked : Buffalo Soldiers