I was never uninterested when I was watching this movie, and I was much entertained; however, I think its message has been long expressed in many other military movies that preceded it, including "Black Hawk Down."

"Jarhead" follows marine sniper Anthony Swofford, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (The Good Girl), from his days at basic, being stationed and serving in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, without having to ever fire his weapon. The picture focuses on his team, under the command of Staff Sergent Sikes, played by Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx (Ray), their differences, as well as their similarities.

I thought this picture represented marine life during the Gulf conflict of 1989 and 1990 very well. Our friend and fellow producer Tony Hughes, who served in the army and parachuted into Panama, said the movie was extremely accurate emotionally more than physically.

I tend to agree that some of the situations the movie produced, I think the soldiers reactions may have been more intense than shown, but for the most part, I don't think there was a sequence that struck me as, "well, that's just not believable."

I thought the entire cast was freaking awesome, especially a couple faces in the supporting cast like Foxx and Evan Jones as the slightly unstable Fowler--of course the goofiest bastard in the platoon was a New Englander.

There will be no complaint from me if Gyllenhaal receives an Academy Award nod for this work.

The last thing I have to ask myself is, how important is this movie? Was this movie really needed? I think it's always good to show how those who join the military, but who don't actually see combat can also come back stateside as a changed person, that the stress, training and environment of serving during wartime is bad enough to screw up your average civilian.

However, I don't think "Jarhead" breaks any new ground with its material. Being in the military, especially a marine, is a tough call, and those who go in willingly are heroes. Those of us who haven't done it will never know about the sacrifice and camaraderie made between soldiers. This idea has been expressed in movies endlessly, including "Platoon," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Saving Private Ryan," "Black Hawk Down" and even--lord help me for even referring to it--"The Thin Red Line."

Overall, "Jarhead" is a fine film and should be seen, but I won't call it a staple in a vast collection of movies showing the inner aspects of the United States' military forces.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?

How many different ways will Hollywood show the public that war sucks? Jarhead is yet another example of how we are re-told the same story about the hardship of soldiers and their families when the soldier is in combat, this time using the back drop of the first Gulf War as its setting.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Proof) stars as Private Anthony Swafford, a US Marine Sniper who is sent to Saudi Arabia in 1990 as apart of Desert Shield, which eventually became Desert Storm, or the first Gulf War. During the six months the soldiers were waiting in the Desert, boredom mixes with anxiety as the troops prepare for the "mother of all battles" while coping with their wives and girlfriends back home sending them "Dear John" letters. The irony of the movie and the whole war is that the soldiers spend six months in the desert to fight an enemy that surrenders in four days, some soldiers never firing a weapon.

The best performance of the movie was given by Peter Sarsgaard (Flightplan) as Troy, a person who only wants to be a Marine yet is going to be kicked out after the war for lying on his application about a felony conviction. His performance was the only straight, i.e. not overly dramatic, in the entire movie. His best scene is towards the end of the movie where he goes nuts trying to perform his job as a sniper when a superior officer won't let him, knowing that this is his only chance to make a difference before he is released.

The opposite of Sarasgaard's performance would be the heavy handed performance offered by Gyllenhaal. He at no time showed restraint in his acting unlike his performance in his other movie this year, Proof. From his masturbation scene to the holding a rifle to a fellow soldiers head and the tearful apology later, it was if he was saying "Look at me, I can act."

This is the second performance that Jaime Foxx has mailed in. So far in his films since Ray, Foxx has been uninspiring and not a very good actor. I am beginning to think Foxx may be a one hit wonder with Ray. The real villains of this movie are the producers. Every trailer that was shown gave the indication that this was a movie about the first gulf war, and by association, the second gulf war going on now. This movie is not a war movie but a movie about what happens to the soldier leading up to the war. Poor advertising led to an uninspired movie that director Sam Mendes could do nothing with. The story was at no time boring, and I never felt that this was a bad story, I just felt cheated by the message.

I am disappointed in this movie and I can't recommend it. If you want to see a movie about what happens to the soldier and their families, "We Were Soldiers" is a much better telling of that and "Black Hawk Down" does a better job of showing the plight of the American soldier. Skip Jarhead and rent one of these two.

Brian - the Naked Gun