Jarhead
Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 4, 2005
7.1
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 285 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
196
Mixed:
54
Negative:
35
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
8
DoctaNov 5, 2005
It might not have a very clear point about anything, and it isn't really all that original, but it's extremely entertaining nonetheless. The script is hilarious and the performances do it justice.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
JakeE.Nov 5, 2005
Good performances in a movie that was a bit outstretched and needed more action. Interesting aspect on the war however. More the war that went on in the soldiers minds.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
DoranW.Nov 4, 2005
The reasoning for a bad review for this movie: "muddled." Nothing about this war, nor the book this great movie was based on, was clear. Gyllenhaal, Saarsgard are quite strong here. Foxx is just phoning it in.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
MikeK.Nov 4, 2005
Interesting to see the non combat side of a war. It was important to lace each of the soldiers with thier own personal background stories to make it more realistic. After seeing a lively film such as this, I understand how someone might Interesting to see the non combat side of a war. It was important to lace each of the soldiers with thier own personal background stories to make it more realistic. After seeing a lively film such as this, I understand how someone might oppose the war, but how can one not support the soldiers who fight it?… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
RussellL-HNov 4, 2005
Please go see this movie. It has no agenda other than to honestly tell the personal cost of war. I was moved emotionally; challenged intellectually; and angered politically. Amazing. Powerful.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
RickK.Nov 4, 2005
It's funny how the only 2 "negative" reviews by "professional" critics ARE negative because of minute details they don't care for. Being in OIF in the Army I saw Iraq first-hand, not from a movie theater whining about not enough It's funny how the only 2 "negative" reviews by "professional" critics ARE negative because of minute details they don't care for. Being in OIF in the Army I saw Iraq first-hand, not from a movie theater whining about not enough butter on my popcorn like the critics who didn't like this movie. The moral of this you ask? It's simple: don't talk sh.t about something you don't know about aside from a movie you watched.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
DavudW.Nov 3, 2005
Mendes delivers a riveting movie experience. The first half of the film is fantastic. It loses it's way in the second half and is too long. Lacking a decisive end that the audience would appreciate, it nevertheless mimics its subject by Mendes delivers a riveting movie experience. The first half of the film is fantastic. It loses it's way in the second half and is too long. Lacking a decisive end that the audience would appreciate, it nevertheless mimics its subject by being ambiguous about a military exercise in futility. A military trained for a type of war that has passed it by technologically. Memorable scenes and moments that will stay with you for a few days.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
PauldeRevereNov 3, 2005
A gripping and intense movie that, unlike what most people probably expected through nearly a year of this movie's studio hype, doesn't choose to make a statement of its own about war ("THE war," the one we're in now), the A gripping and intense movie that, unlike what most people probably expected through nearly a year of this movie's studio hype, doesn't choose to make a statement of its own about war ("THE war," the one we're in now), the U.S. Marine Corps or the Gulf War. "Jarhed" may tell us that the Gulf War was "fucked up," but most of us go in already knowing that. If there's any statement to be made through "Jarhead," its purely in context and not subtext-- be you a civilian or a soldier, pro-war or anti-war. In the way of its other contemporaries, ("Three Kings" and especially "Gunner Palace") "Jarhead" balances the reality of war and the surreality of a mind subjected to war in a film with rich visuals, tour de force acting and "realistic," some would call underwhelming, dialogue. I call it a triumph. It is, in a word, as "real" as fictional filmmaking gets.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
JoelC.Nov 2, 2005
Take it from a vet of the gulf war era, this movie kix buttocks.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
ALEXA.Nov 1, 2005
Masterpiece.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
1
CappaDosteNov 1, 2005
One of the worst scripts ever written--pointless, boring, disconnected... the movie felt endless.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
SteveS.Nov 1, 2005
I thought the movie was excellent, and captured the essence of the book very well. My wife hadn't read the book, and having seen the movie she wants to read the book too; she liked the movie a lot too. People expecting a giant war movie I thought the movie was excellent, and captured the essence of the book very well. My wife hadn't read the book, and having seen the movie she wants to read the book too; she liked the movie a lot too. People expecting a giant war movie may be disappointed, but they should know better -- the war was Desert Shield and Desert Storm, after all. The real story is the overall experience of being a Marine, through arrival, training, peacetime military, buildup to war, battle, and return to civilian life. Jake Gyllenhaal's acting is very good. He has a convincing intensity. Peter Sarsgaard is very good also. Jamie Foxx doesn't get a lot of screen time, but his part is important, and he is excellent. Chris Cooper has little more than a cameo, but he plays it well too. The directing is excellent; Sam Mendes picked up lots of awards for _American Beauty_, and he has done another fine job. The cinematography is impressive too. The screenplay does a great job of matching the mood of the book, which was a huge seller in 2003. Given the timing of the movie, during another war in the same country as the one featured in the book and movie, some people might expect a political message. There is practically none at all. It's not about why the Marines were sent off to that war, it's about their experiences as Marines, particularly Swofford's experiences. Some people may take away a political message, but if they do they're reading their own attitudes into the movie, because the movie is strongly apolitical. The one Marine in the movie who brings up political issues is shouted down by the others. The sole exception is wartime censorship; when the media visit, the soldiers are annoyed that their censorship orders go absurdly beyond protection of military information.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
AlexA.Oct 31, 2005
the courage to be ambivalent. really a masterpiece that will only get better as the years go by.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
KevinE.Oct 30, 2005
Nothing short of spectacular. Jarhead pulls all the right kind of emotional punches. Amazing Performances by Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Cooper, Lucas Black. But a truly sensational oscar calilber performance by Jake Gylenhaal. Mendes Nothing short of spectacular. Jarhead pulls all the right kind of emotional punches. Amazing Performances by Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Cooper, Lucas Black. But a truly sensational oscar calilber performance by Jake Gylenhaal. Mendes never fails to amaze me. After only 3 films he can be consider a living Directing ledgend. This may not be his best film, but it'll definatly be the best of the year… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
10
JorgeM.Oct 29, 2005
I really enjoyed this movie. The action was good and it had a great story. i recommend that if you are into war movies that you definnitely go see it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
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