Jarhead (2005)

Dir: Sam Mendes

Very well made commentary on the inhumanity of training young men into a massive army of ‘soldiers/killers-on-a-leash’. Falling short of actually criticising the Gulf War efforts, it nonetheless destroys the notion that there is anything noble in the act of being a warrior in this day and age. Especially when the foot soldiers are mostly tokenistic due to modern weaponry, yet they are still converted into potential killers waiting for some adrenaline and action. To take half a million of your own population and ‘train’ them to be soldiers with no real intention of them ever becoming functioning social humans again is an act of evil. This movie shows that, but it does not say it.
Directed by Sam Mendes of American Beauty fame – another movie which championed showing the trauma, that film was a little closer to home. Isn’t that always the problem with these computer game wars on the other side of the planet?
If you like this movie, go get Three Kings - right now.

This dish delivers exactly what you expect: A decent slab of Jake Gyllenhaal action, with a side order of cynicism

Jarhead -