Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard

"Jarhead" (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff, a third-generation enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound rucksac...( read more  read more... )k on his back through Middle East deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully fathom.

Flixster Users

68% liked it

367,467 ratings

Critics

60% liked it

182 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 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: 18,416 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (18,416)


  • September 17, 2009
    I would say this was 50% accurate and 50% gloss. Entertaining but I didn't care much for Gyllenhaal and Foxx's performances.
  • July 28, 2009
    The first gulf war has had the reputation of having been a rather clean and effortless war since the last shot was fired. This film is putting an end to that. Starting out with the training of the marine snipers, including all yelling drill sergeants and initiation rituals that i...( read more)ncludes, the middle part concentrates on the bored waiting of soldiers for the shit to hit the fan in Iraq. The last third, when the shit finally hits the fan, is probably the truest and most honest effort to show what went down in 1991, some parts almost feel documentary. Especially the scenes among the burning oil fields are particularly bizarre and leave an impression with the audience. All that is well acted and excellently filmed. Dirty, honest and without any hollow heroism crap, this film shows the every day life of a soldier in operation "desert storm" probably as close as no other has.
  • March 24, 2009
    Like most people, the flabby bit is in the middle.
  • March 19, 2009
    It makes its point, but doesn't give us anything to remember.
  • January 3, 2009
    Haven't seen this in a while...gonna have to rewatch it.
  • November 20, 2009
    Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard

    "Jarhead" (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff, a third-generation enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound rucksack on his back through Middle Ea...( read more)st deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully fathom.


    I think this is the first war movie I have seen that really wasn't about war. It was more about the soldiers and their lives. How they live while there and how they cope with being so far away from loved ones. I must say that I am not a huge fan of war movies, but I do always end up watching them for some reason or another, and I am always a bit surprised when I actually like one. I did cringe a little when I saw that the running time of this movie was five minutes short of being 2hrs long. I was for sure I wouldn't be able to sit through the whole movie. Well I guess I was wrong. It intrigued me. Loved the characters, and thought Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard were great. The more war movie's I watch and like encourage me to watch more. LOL.. Not really.. But people should see this one.
  • November 16, 2009
    "Every war is different, every war is the same."
  • November 16, 2009
    It was a liitle much, but i still enjoyed it's humor, and foul mouthed Jamie Foxx was pretty good.

    "A memoir on the upsides, and utter realisms of men at war during Desert Storm."
  • November 11, 2009
    Marketed as a war movie, but more of a character study of a Gulf War soldier who spent months in the Saudi desert, waiting for combat to begin, spending most of his time causing mischief and getting into trouble. The cast here is admirable, with Jake Gyllenhaal leading, hot off h...( read more)is acclaimed performance in Brokeback Mountain. He has great chemistry with Peter Sarsgaard, his real-life brother-in-law. They should do more work together. It's too bad they have so little to do here. The film is interesting the first time around, but tends to fall flat on subsequent viewings. The cinematography is beautiful, particularly toward the end when the desert slips into darkness caused by oil fires.
  • October 30, 2009
    It's better than it looks at first sight!

Critic Reviews


November 4, 2005
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Jarhead is often a film about boredom, but it's never boring; full of unexpected touches and detailed character turns. full review

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

November 4, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

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

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. full review

November 4, 2005
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

I dare anyone to watch this bold exercise in postponed gratification and not come away with a new, disturbed sense of the genre. full review

November 3, 2005
David Edelstein, Slate

Jarhead feels detached, and the internal turmoil of its protagonist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) lacks urgency -- even with first-person narration to fill in some of the gaps. full review

November 3, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Jarhead is a movie that walks up to some of the most urgent and painful issues of our present circumstance, clears its throat loudly and says nothing.

November 3, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It is not often that a movie catches exactly what it was like to be this person in this place at this time, but Jarhead does. full review

November 3, 2005
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

It's the cinematic equivalent of marching in circles. full review

November 3, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Never comes close to expressing the insanity of war itself. full review

View more Jarhead reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • HayleyLeigh1
    September 29, 2009
    too long with too little action.
  • Jesssse26
    June 26, 2008
    Wheres the action worst war movie ever
  • filmaker99
    June 11, 2008
    i think people should stop killing people over oil. lets switch to hybrid!
  • LoveAndAdoreHardMaleNipples1
    May 31, 2007
    Missing Lucas Black in the actors list for this film.
  • gabrielhortencio
    May 15, 2007
    Excelente! Ótima fotografia e trilha sonora. Um filme de guerra que nao fica somente em tiros e mortes. Mostra a frustração dos soldados diante da falta de ação no campo de batalha, durante a primeira guerra do Iraque :)


    SOu fã pelo Jake Gyllenhaal!
    já vi quase todos os filmes dele!
  • thehappydude
    April 28, 2007
    Fantastic film and shows wot can really happen in a war both physically and mentally
  • r3gorman
    February 17, 2007
    gd film real in some ways to the things that happen in the army and the time your training and doin nothing but could of been better
  • pos4us
    November 2, 2006
    i read the book too!its an awesome story,true story of a marine.everyone who thinks war is good should see and read the book.although i still wanna join the Marines
  • YouCantStopTheBeat
    October 30, 2006
    the film has 250+ fucks and 50+ motherfuckers and got of course a strict R(also for very strong sex,nudity and torture scenes)but in england it got a 15 which is the equvilant of a PG-13 in america!how it passed as a 15!
  • jbpelican
    July 3, 2006
    My friends told me not to see it, but being me i ignored them and im glad i did. Its a war movie, but the main character doesent get a single kill. Its a movie that you hate to admit, portrays the raw truth of a real war.

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Jarhead Trivia


  • Which movie is Jude Law NOT in?  Answer »
  • He played with rockets, Talked to Psychotic Bunnie's and became a Jarhead  Answer »
  • Actor who stars in Donnie Darko, Jarhead and The Day After Tomorrow?  Answer »
  • In which movie did Jake Gyllenhaal star in as a soldier in the Gulf War?  Answer »

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