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Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, Brian Geraghty, Jacob Vargas ... see more see more... , Laz Alonso , Evan Jones , Chris Cooper , Dennis Haysbert , Jamie Foxx , Scott Macdonald , Ming Lo , Kevin Foster , Damion Poitier , Riad Galayini , Craig Coyne , Rini Bell , Dendrie Allyn Taylor , James Morrison , Arman Zajic , Brianne Davis , Brian Casey , Ernest Ozuna , Tyler Sedustine , Jocko Sims , Jonathon R. Mize , Joel Prato , Kristin Richardson , Iván Fenyö , Peter Gail , Jaimie Martz , Kareem J. Grimes , Donna Kimball , Marty Papazian , Mark Davis , John Krasinski , Christian Reeve , Mike Akrawi , Toufiq Tulsiram , Jubin K. , Hari Bali , Kurt Larson , Ammar Daraiesh , Al Faris , V.J. Foster , Matthew Atherton

A young man gets a crash course in the madness of war in this fact-based drama from director Sam Mendes. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to join the Marines, just like his father an... read more read more...d his father before him, and signs on just in time to be sent to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War in 1991. After experiencing the rigors of boot camp, Swofford and his pal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to be snipers, and under the leadership of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) and Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper), the two land in the middle of a desert where they're up against an enemy they can't always see under a blazing sun with hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Swofford, Troy, and their fellow soldiers rely on the wits, their sense of humor, and their friendship of their brothers in arms to deal with a situation that doesn't much resemble what they saw on television at home. Jarhead was based on the memoirs of the real-life Anthony Swofford, who did serve as a sniper in the 1991 Gulf War; the title comes from military slang for a Marine enlistee. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

68% liked it

367,467 ratings

Critics

61% liked it

195 critics

R, 2 hr. 2 min.

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Release Date: November 4, 2005

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DVD Release Date: March 7, 2006

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Stats: 19,294 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (19,294)

  • brooklynspo
    April 17, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Entirely predictable first-person account of a marine's experiences around Desert Storm. Ambivalent and unengaging.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    February 18, 2012
    LoughnerWasLucid
    i almost gor drafted last year so this is like a horror movie
  • aquateen2
    November 2, 2011
    aquateen2
    Jarhead is more than a movie. It is an entertaining truthful first person look at the reality of the war and that the biggest enemy they were fighting was boredom.
  • ScoopOnline
    September 28, 2011
    ScoopOnline
    I ussually avoid Anti War Movies. They iritate me mostly but this was something different.
  • DreamExtractor
    April 27, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Jarhead was a geniusly made film and is tied with The Hurt Locker and Black Hawk Down as the greatest Iraq war film ever. Jake Gylenhal is a great actor, and here is proof of his genius. The plot is great, it shows the life of a man from boot camp to the war and ultimately goin... read moreg home, and the horrors along the way. The music in the movie was a work of genius, Ill give credit to the composer. Jarhead is a genius movie, no doubt about it.
  • garyX
    March 16, 2011
    garyX
    A new kind of war film for a new kind of war, Sam Mendes' adaptation of Anthony Swofford's account of his experiences in Iraq can however stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best of them. Gyllenhaal's progression from raw recruit through to the sheer tedium of waiting for... read more his war to happen is in turns funny, fascinating and shocking and Mendes provides some truly striking imagery. The well observed and intelligent script gives the viewer a real sense of "being there", and the uniqueness of the Iraq war in that it was so ubiquitous in the media means that these "behind the scenes" observations give real insight into the conflict, essentially filling in the blanks for those of us who experienced the war blow by blow on TV. Some of the characters were a little sketchy, but the triumvirate of Gyllenhaal, Foxx and Sarsgaard are brilliantly rendered and acted. The clever use of contemporary music also compliments the action (or lack of it) perfectly, and it is full of knowing references to war movies and their role in popular culture, counterpointing the drudgery of it's reality for these soldiers. ("That was Vietnam, asshole! We don't even have our own ***ing music!") A great study of fighting men coming to terms with their own impotence in a conflict that was taken out of their hands by technology.
  • crunchbunch
    January 17, 2011
    crunchbunch
    Jarhead is surprisingly addictive viewing with us following Swoff (Jake Gyllenhaal) into the Gulf War or more accurately, before the Gulf War as the soldiers try to cope with their boredom and prepare for battle.

    Jughead is a war film trying not to be about war, instead we see ... read morethe soldiers dealing with the psychological effects of having nothing to do and their desperation to 'get some'. Gyllenhaal is fantastic as the self loathing Swoffard while Jamie Foxx puts in a strong performance as the Staff Sergeant.

    While I doubt this is a 100% accurate to real life events, I think it was a decent attempt at portraying war without the shine.

    "Look, I am twenty years old and I was dumb enough to sign a contract. I can hear their fucking bombs already. I can hear their bombs and I'm fucking scared, yeah. "
  • hunterjt13
    November 3, 2010
    hunterjt13
    This is a poor man's Full Metal Jacket. Though the idea of concentrating on the time before war, the waiting, the impatience, and the resulting human degradation is an interesting perspective, the film becomes a militaristic Animal House, and the point gets lost in... read more the crazy faux-joviality. Also, we don't know enough about Swoff before he entered the Marines to understand the degree of his character's change. Finally, the characters' central, stated goal is to kill someone - to get that one confirmed kill. But whereas FMJ's Joker is being satirical, these men are seriously obsessed with the prospect, and this goal makes it almost impossible to sympathize. Yes, I understand that distaste for these characters is part of the film's point, but they're not even "interesting-bad." They're just one-dimensionally blood-thirsty.
    All this notwithstanding, Peter Sarsgaard turns in another astounding, convincing performance. The best friend from Garden State is always interesting to watch.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    October 15, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Based on Ex USMC Scout Sniper, Anthony Swofford's memoir Jarhead; this is an incredible look at how soldiering can change one man. The film follows Swofford from Boot Camp to active duty during the Gulf War. The film takes a close look at Anthony Swofford who has a family history... read more that every male member has served in the war. Swofford attends extensive Marine training to become a scout sniper. The film shows the camaraderie of the soldiers going off to war. Also the film shows the inhuman side of the soldiers (Swofford pulls an M16A2 assault riffle on a fellow soldier, another soldier desecrates a dead Iraqi's body) Jarhead is set during the first Gulf War. Instead of fighting the enemy, they mostly fight boredom amongst themselves. A terrificly told film with a new take on the war genre, though lacking in actual warfare carnage; Jarhead plays on the aspect of what it means to be a soldier and it's a film that tends to show a different side of soldiers. However the reason why this film fails to have a perfect score is that it shows mostly Hollywood cliches of stereotypical marine, dimwitted and can't do anything smart, and has little education. Thats my only real beef with the film, and thats why I can't give this film a perfect score. However it is a well acted film with strong actors in the roles. This is unlike any other war film, because it focuses on a war that lasted for four days, and the thing that soldiers are fighting the most of is boredom, not the enemy. A different type of film, but enjoyable nonetheless. Sam Mendes (director of American Beauty) brings this impressive story to film. Jarhead is watchable, but it's not flawless by any means.
  • fb733768972
    February 5, 2010
    fb733768972
    Extremely weak, and I found myself fallign asleep to how boring i was. I wasn't even 2 hours and I seemed like 4. It could have been condensed even more than it was!

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Critic Reviews

Ken Tucker
December 9, 2005
Ken Tucker, New York Magazine

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

Richard Roeper
November 7, 2005
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

This is a very strong film with really good performances. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
November 4, 2005
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

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 pr... Full Review

Mike Clark
November 4, 2005
Mike Clark, USA Today

Director Sam Mendes' third screen outing pretty well nails Swofford's tone, which was mordant without being disrespectful, and, in fact, is begrudgingly reverent of the Corps. Full Review

Peter Howell
November 4, 2005
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Jarhead makes its points less obviously than most war films, and with more brains than blood. Full Review

Richard Schickel
November 4, 2005
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

The best war movies -- and this one, despite its being overlong and repetitive, is among them -- hold that men fight (or in this case, are ready to fight) not for causes, but to survive and to help th... Full Review

Mick LaSalle
November 4, 2005
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The invigorating thing about Jarhead is it makes us encounter the truth in its undigested form. Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek
November 4, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

As hard as the actors work, Jarhead feels false right down to its seductive visuals. Full Review

Peter Travers
November 4, 2005
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Gyllenhaal is the heart and soul of a darkly funny and ferociously intense movie that sets its sights on soldiers under the gun of doing nothing.

Steven Rea
November 4, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Although the picture suffers a narrative letdown in the third act that leaves its central characters -- and, alas, its audience -- in the muck of anticlimax, Jarhead has moments of real glory.

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    • Staff Sergeant Sykes: [to the dead marine] I told you to keep your fucking head down! If you'd listened to me, you'd still be fucking alive right now, stupid fuck!
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  • Which movie is Jude Law NOT in?  Answer »
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  • In which movie did Jake Gyllenhaal star in as a soldier in the Gulf War?  Answer »
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