I have to say I am not a fan of War Films. I can quite happily watch them, it's just I have difficulty relating to the whole macho world on which they are based.
It had all the usual bits of a war film - the training scenes (which were done to perfection in Full Metal Jacket, so why even bother?) and then the War, in which nothing really happens. But then, like with most war films, nothing ever happening was kind of the point... (Nichts Neues im Westen as a prime example.)
I don't really think it was supposed to 'say' much about the concept of war in general or even the Gulf War specifically. If it was I must have missed it, all I remember is the beautiful shots of endless desert and the bizarreness of it all: the shock of seeing any other people for the first time and the beautifully surreal scenes of walking through the raining oil.
I guess instead of being a commentary on War, Jarhead gave a more personal view of what it is to be a soldier. One thing I did notice was the bright, sharp, immediacy of the picture during the time in the desert, even when nothing was going on; compared with the dull, anaesthetised, almost insignificant views of life back on civvy street.
Jarhead was nice to watch for a few hours, it did annoy me a little how much importance was put upon Jake Gyllenhaal's girlfriend leaving him, it almost felt like it was the centre of the film. But apart from that, and the fact I'm not the biggest fan ever of War Films, I did enjoy it. It gets a 7
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