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Poster for Jarhead

Jarhead

Welcome to the suck.

2005 · 2h 3m · R Drama, War
Directed by Sam Mendes

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Overview

Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
60%
Tomatometer
Fresh

The film's strong suit is vagueness, presenting combat as a semi-surreal state of ignorant expectation and dislocated experience: these warriors loll in the desert awaiting action or trying to make sense of its consequences.

Ben Walters, Time Out
Fresh

Jarhead is utterly predictable (boys endure tough training; boys encounter another culture and are baffled), studded with first-rate performances.

Ken Tucker, New York Magazine/Vulture
Rotten

Screenwriter William Broyles, Jr., a former Vietnam pilot and Newsweek editor, connects reasonably well with the material, but American Beauty director Sam Mendes has a tendency to smooth out the rough edges, and the film goes flat as month-old soda.

Scott Tobias, AV Club
Fresh

This is a very strong film with really good performances.

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Fresh

What's so good about the movie is Gyllenhaal's refusal to show off; he doesn't seem jealous of the camera's attention when it goes to others and is content, for long stretches, to serve simply as a prism though which other young men can be observed.

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

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