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Sep 15, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Based on Anthony Swofford's acclaimed memoir about his experiences as a marine in Desert Storm, Sam Mendes's film version suffers from some of the same flaws as the book. While the book is better written and more introspective than your average military memoir, it's also not very interesting, partly because Desert Storm was not a very interesting (or long) war. The marines didn't see much action and the boot camp scenes, which echo "Full Metal Jacket," are more intense. Gyllenhall is good, if a little callow, as Swofford and the solid supporting cast includes Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Cooper, and, for about 30 seconds, John Krasinski. Mendes did enlist the great cinematographer Roger Deakins and editor Walter Murch, who worked on some of Coppola's films. "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deer Hunter" are both reference, but "Jarhead" hardly measures up. Desert Storm was hardly 'Nam. Director Mendes ("Revolution Road," "American Beauty") always seems on the verge of saying something, but never does. It is a different kind of war movie, which I applaud, but it's hardly a great one.