Jarhead

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Jarhead

R

Released Nov 4, 2005

2h 3m

War

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

197 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

In the late 1980s, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) enlists as a Marine, training in boot camp under a sadistic drill instructor. Swofford undertakes a sniper course headed by Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) during this time, which is shortly before the advent of the Gulf War. When the United States becomes involved, Swofford is shipped out, along with his spotter, Alan Troy (Peter Sarsgaard). Facing uncertainty each day -- about the war and home -- the soldiers try to maintain composure.

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Critics Consensus

This first person account of the first Gulf War scores with its performances and cinematography but lacks an emotional thrust.

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Catherine Shoard

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Gyllenhaal can, in fact, act, so the blame must fall elsewhere for his dim performance, all topless tears and soulful voiceovers. The same goes for Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Cooper and Jamie Foxx, three good actors forced into contortions of theatrics.

Jan 16, 2018

Full Review

Leslie Felperin

Sight & Sound

Jarhead is simultaneously audaciously original and so mired in the clichés it knowingly acknowledges, sends up and honours that it has little new to say.

Sep 28, 2006

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Apr 1, 2006

Full Review

Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

The deep demoralization of the US forces flows ultimately from their soul-destroying assignment to conquer the world on behalf of a bankrupt imperialism.

Mar 5, 2021

Full Review

David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Jarhead aims to provide the eternal reason why young men are drawn to war, like moths to the flame. Swofford and director Sam Mendes stress that to most young GIs, even the most fervently created antiwar film is a fighting man's pornography.

May 7, 2020

Full Review

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

These soldiers wanted action, any action, just to feel justified for the life they left behind and Mendes does a great job of showing that anguish. The cast is excellent, too.

Rated: B+

Nov 19, 2019

Full Review

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Jacob B

That Tomatometer score seems quite low, don't you think? Based off of what I've heard, this film has been practically vindicated by history since it has became general knowledge among movie buffs that Jarhead is not some jingoistic war film but a character drama about a group of Marines combating boredom. And I definitely agree with the idea that the trailers making this film out to be the next Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down might have been the point. And once you get past that, Jarhead's actually really good. It has strong acting, is very visually pleasing thanks to Roger Deakins' stellar cinematography, deals with what Marines go through quite well when they're far from home such as concerns about infidelity and looking forward to catharsis that ultimately never comes and is also surprisingly funny. While I knew that I wasn't getting a big testosterone-fueled war film, what I wasn't expecting from Jarhead was its fair share of levity. Makes me curious if Sam Mendes, a director who prefers to avoid being pigeonholed in any one specific genre, might ever be interested in making a pure comedy one day. I recommend seeing the trailers for Jarhead first, then watching the movie almost immediately to get into a similar mindset as the Marines depicted here. And that's even if you already know that this film is interpreted as "intentionally boring" because I figure it provides us with a film-related lesson: that there's a difference between a war film and a film about soldiers or, in this case, Marines.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/21/25

Full Review

Alfie M

Jarhead is a visually beautiful film and offers a simple message, war is moving on. Peter Sarsgaard is unbelievable and honestly matches Jake Gyllenhaal. Honestly really fun and silly probably the most low-key enjoyable "war" film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/16/25

Full Review

Landen D

Sad, action packed movie that shows another tragedy of war in the loss of relationships with people back home

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/14/25

Full Review

Obi-wan K

33:00 minute (mark)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

Full Review

Lucas G

Jarhead is a movie that shows the struggles of war. The movie does this perfectly by having no combat in the entire movie watching as one soldier slowly slips into madness awaiting combat.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

Full Review

Audience Member

The movie was interesting to say the least, not what I expected, had a few hard quotes and was funny some times but the rest was just the background music doing it's magic, it is indeed immersive tho.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/01/24

Full Review

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Sam Mendes

Director

Jake Gyllenhaal

Anthony Swofford

Peter Sarsgaard

Alan Troy

Jamie Foxx

Staff Sgt. Sykes

Chris Cooper

Lt. Col. Kazinski

Lucas Black

Chris Kruger

Jarhead: Official Clip - Training Death

1:16

Jarhead: Official Clip - Swofford Loses It

3:01

Jarhead: Official Clip - Stripping Soldiers

3:55

Jarhead: Official Clip - Drill Sergeant Intro

2:36

Jarhead: Official Clip - The Scorpion Fight

1:17

Jarhead: Official Clip - Permission to Take the Shot

2:34

Jarhead: Official Clip - Christmas Party Flares

2:42

Jarhead: Official Clip - We're Going Home!

2:58

Jarhead: Official Clip - Demotion & Latrine Duty

2:38

Jarhead: Official Clip - Bugle Try Out

2:12

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Synopsis

In the late 1980s, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) enlists as a Marine, training in boot camp under a sadistic drill instructor. Swofford undertakes a sniper course headed by Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) during this time, which is shortly before the advent of the Gulf War. When the United States becomes involved, Swofford is shipped out, along with his spotter, Alan Troy (Peter Sarsgaard). Facing uncertainty each day -- about the war and home -- the soldiers try to maintain composure.

Director: Sam Mendes
Producer: Lucy Fisher, Sam Mendes, Douglas Wick
Screenwriter: William Broyles Jr.
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Red Wagon Entertainment, Neal Street Productions
Rating: R (Some Violent Images|Pervasive Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 4, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $62.6M
Runtime: 2h 3m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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