An “insanely accurate” war film is leaving Netflix soon. Jarhead is a 2005 biographical war drama film based on the 2003 memoir of the same name by Anthony Swofford.
The movie chronicles his military service in the United States Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War. It focuses on the sniper’s psychological experience during the Gulf War, focusing on the boredom, isolation, and frustration of waiting for combat rather than the action itself. Directed by Sam Mendes, the film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, and Chris Cooper. Viewers took to Reddit to discuss the film, calling it “underrated” and “super poignant”. One said: “As someone who spent the majority of his military career in an infantry unit, 70% of that movie was insanely accurate.” Another Redditor agreed, saying: “Just watched it and as a vet that deployed, it was almost giving me flashbacks. The movie really depicted marine life in and out of theatre and more so the aftermath of separation.”
A third said: “It’s a great movie. They nail the ‘hurry up and wait’ of military life. I also enjoy the part about the war movie that’s too fast for a single soldier to keep up with.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on 197 reviews. The site’s consensus states: “This first-person account of the first Gulf War scores with its performances and cinematography but lacks an emotional thrust.”
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews”.
Roger Ebert gave the movie three-and-a-half out of four stars, crediting it for its unique portrayal of Gulf War Marines who battled boredom and a sense of isolation rather than enemy combatants.
Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the film a “B+” rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote: “Jarhead isn’t overtly political, yet by evoking the almost surreal futility of men whose lust for victory through action is dashed, at every turn, by the tactics, terrain, and morality of the war they’re in, it sets up a powerfully resonant echo of the one we’re in today.”
Jarhead is leaving Netflix on December 10. It has been on the site for around six months.