Jarhead

Jarhead, based on the best-selling memoir by former United States Marine Anthony Swofford, recounts his experiences during Desert Storm.

After a brief sequence depicting the brutal humiliation Swofford endured during Boot Camp, as well as his subsequent training as a sniper, his platoon is subsequently deployed to Saudi Arabia. With frequent rousing speeches -- heavily imbued with American propaganda -- the men are eager to see combat and make their first kill.

But they must first play a waiting game, as the film focuses on their interminable boredom and the difficulty in maintaining relationships with wives and girlfriends back home. Nearly six months pass before the war begins which, for Swofford, lasts a mere four days; as he laments, "I never shot my rifle..."

The screenplay by William Broyles Jr. captures Swofford's sardonic tone and shoots through a series of events. But it fails to convey the author's constant fear of attack or his increasing doubt about his chosen role. In fact, the entire story is rather pointless, but that may very well be Swofford's point. However, by not taking a pro-war or anti-Bush platform, the film accomplishes nothing and suffers as a result.

While Jarhead attempts to do for the Gulf War what Platoon did for Vietnam, it has none of the latter's horror, edge or emotion. And the eclectic soundtrack accentuates the film's inability to define itself.

Director Sam Mendes portrays the Marines as rugged but, for the most part, vacuous. More a character study than a chronicle of war, Mendes chills the viewer with images of charred refugees and rains of oil from blazing wells.

As Swofford, Jake Gyllenhaal has a surprising screen presence that show's enormous promise, but he is given little to do but swear and goof around. Nevertheless, he delivers an intense and experienced performance that equals those of Jamie Foxx as a Marine lifer who heads the platoon, and Peter Sarsgaard as Swofford's mentor.

Though not the first movie about the Gulf War, Jarhead adds little to its cinematic comment. Still, it offers fascinating insight into what it means to be one of the few and the proud. Rating: 6 out of 10.