Jarheads

I finally saw the movie Jarhead tonight. I can certainly see why the Marines who have seen it were disappointed. There isn't a specific instance in the movie that depicts Marines in a bad way. I think that the Marines are disappointed by what the movie fails to show.

Throughout Jarhead, I was unable to connect with any of the characters. They're all just too one-dimensional. They grunt, want to kill somebody, enjoy partying when the drill instructor isn't riding them, and make fun of a fellow Marine when he gets a "Dear John" letter from his girl. The Marines of Jarhead are completely lacking in virtue. They exist only to fulfill the Marine mission of kicking butt and taking names.

My favorite war movie, in terms of portraying the character of the American fighting man, is still We Were Soldiers. While Jarhead is interesting, it lacks the character development to truly be an enduring movie that people will want to watch more than once. Marines are interesting people; it just takes a good filmmaker to capture that in a movie.