Force Fed Film: Jarhead (2005)

Today Puneet surprised me with the movie Jarhead. This was a huge movie when it came out, but for whatever reason I just never went to see it. Thinking back on my younger self, I can imagine the trailer wouldn't have had much action in it, and being more of a drama, and me not being a war buff, I let it pass by. As years have gone by, once in a while I remember about this film, and think to myself "I really should see that one." I would always seem to forget about it before I could get my hands on it though. Thankfully it popped into Puneet's mind for this week's movie, and so you can expect my thoughts on this biographical film of former marine Anthony Sworfford, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, right after the jump.


Jarhead is based on an autobiographical book written by Anthony Sworfford, and is about his time in the U.S. marine corps as a sniper just before Desert Storm. Jake Gyllenhaal (who I saw yesterday in Zodiac) takes the lead role as Sworfford. Alan Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) is his spotter for sniping, essentially his teammate. It shows the kind of training he had to go through, the mental preparedness, the anticipation, and the anxiousness he goes through both before, and during the war. One question is, in a modern war of jets and tanks, will a platoon of snipers ever even be called into action? Was it all worth it?

There are so many amazing shots, it was hard to pick just a few

There are a lot of recognizable faces in this film. Sworfford's Staff Sgt. in the field is Sgt. Sykes, who is played by Jamie Foxx, and his Battalion Commander is Lt. Col. Kazinski, played by Chris Cooper, who you may have seen recently in The Muppets. Of course there are a lot of men in his platoon, but I noticed that one of the many men was played by Lucas Black. Who is Lucas Black you ask? Alright, that's a fair question. He was the main character in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift! I only bring it up because he was one of the more memorable people in Sworfford's group besides the main characters, and it was funny to see him in a more serious role. He actually did pretty well. Nothing dramatic mind you, but he made a good jokester. But honestly, all the actors did a really great job. Gyllenhaal was amazing, as was Saragaard, Jamie Foxx, and even Cooper, even though his role wasn't terrible big.

Part punishment, part demonstration, the platoon is made to play football in full hazard gear!

 Another thing that kinda blew my mind in this film were the visuals. The vistas and the views were amazing! OK, so most of it is just empty desert for a long time, but I really believed they were over in Kuwait. It all changes once the oil fields are set on fire though, and there are so many stunning sights. It looked like hell, but seeing the desert in the pitch black of night, lit only by the towers of flame all around them was really amazing. The whole film was just beautifully shot! At the same time though, when the action is flying in some scenes, it's filmed with a great fast paced energy and I was really sucked into the moment. All around the cinematography was simply fantastic!

One of many amazing shots

There's not too much I can say about this movie without spoiling too much. I felt the stresses of being away from home and family and loved ones were shown really well. It's pretty much a horrible situation to be in, but at the same time, one the soldiers will never forget and it becomes a part of who they are, no matter how little they may want it. This was a great movie and I'd easily recommend it. There's a little something for everyone, even those looking to see Jake Gyllenhaal's nude butt! But if that doesn't win you over, come for the great drama and a great look into what it was like on the ground in Desert Storm.