Jarhead

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)

Marco L (CASTELLANO) La experiencia de ver Jarhead es como asomarse a una guerra absurda en la que todo parece tener menos sentido del que debería. Sam Mendes retrata con precisión quirúrgica lo que significó para aquellos soldados vivir atrapados en un desierto sin gloria, enfrentando un enemigo invisible mientras se consumían en la rutina y el sinsentido. No se trata de batallas épicas ni de grandes gestas, sino de la espera interminable y del vacío que deja una guerra que nunca fue suya. Jake Gyllenhaal brilla como el joven marine que, lleno de furia y dudas, se enfrenta a un conflicto que no le permite ser el soldado que entrenaron que debía ser. A su lado, Peter Sarsgaard y Jamie Foxx completan un reparto intenso, capaz de transmitir la mezcla de rabia, frustración y resignación que pesaba sobre cada uno de ellos. Mendes sabe extraer de ellos interpretaciones crudas, sin adornos, que encajan a la perfección con el tono de la película. La fotografía de Roger Deakins es otro de los grandes logros: convierte el desierto en un escenario hipnótico, tan bello como insoportable. La arena, el calor y el humo de los pozos de petróleo ardiendo hablan tanto como los propios diálogos. La música y el silencio, en los momentos justos, terminan de construir esa sensación de ahogo constante. No es una película de acción, y ahí radica parte de su fuerza y también de su desafío. Mendes evita glorificar la guerra y la muestra como lo que fue: un teatro de intereses en el que lo único realmente importante era el petróleo. Esa decisión puede desconcertar a quienes buscan una narración más convencional, pero ofrece un retrato más honesto y perturbador. Jarhead no deja indiferente. Es incómoda, a ratos desesperante, pero justamente por eso consigue transmitir cómo debió sentirse aquella generación de soldados perdidos en medio de una guerra sin causa clara. Una obra que habla menos de combates y más de vacío existencial, del precio de ser usado en nombre de nada. (ENGLISH) Watching Jarhead feels like peering into a senseless war where everything seems to matter less than it should. Sam Mendes captures with surgical precision what it meant for those soldiers to live trapped in a desert without glory, facing an invisible enemy while consumed by routine and futility. There are no epic battles or heroic deeds here, only endless waiting and the emptiness of a war that never truly belonged to them. Jake Gyllenhaal shines as the young marine filled with anger and doubt, caught in a conflict that never allows him to become the soldier he was trained to be. Alongside him, Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx complete a strong cast, conveying the mix of rage, frustration, and resignation that weighed on each of them. Mendes draws raw, unadorned performances that perfectly match the film’s tone. Roger Deakins’ cinematography is another triumph: the desert becomes a hypnotic stage, as beautiful as it is unbearable. The sand, the heat, and the burning oil fields speak as loudly as the characters themselves. Music and silence, used at the right moments, heighten the sense of suffocation. This is not an action movie, and therein lies both its strength and its challenge. Mendes avoids glorifying war, instead exposing it as what it truly was: a theater of interests where oil was the only thing that mattered. That choice may unsettle viewers expecting a more conventional narrative, but it offers a more honest and unsettling portrait. Jarhead is never indifferent. It’s uncomfortable, at times exasperating, but precisely for that reason it conveys how that generation of soldiers must have felt—lost in the middle of a war with no clear cause. A film less about combat and more about existential emptiness, about the price of being used in the name of nothing. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/23/25 Full Review Jack F It's still a war movie, but the war itself is not the focus. The focus is the interactions the soldiers have with each other and the shenanigans they get into. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/19/25 Full Review Colin H A very average non-action 'action' film. Massively over-hyped, and massively dull. I couldn't care less about any of the characters, or their inner turmoil. That probably says it all. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/05/25 Full Review Harold C. A subversive war story that trades spectacle for futility, Mendes crafts a character-driven descent that feels more sad than tragic. Anchored by striking visuals and an award-worthy turn from Peter Sarsgaard, it lingers as a hollow but powerful reminder of what it means to come home with nothing to show for it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/21/25 Full Review Daniel E This is a Must see, the movie dives in deeper into what life in the military really is like, and out of all the war movies i have seen, i have to say that this is probably one of the most realistic one, this movie dose not just dive into what being a marine is like but also the psychological affects of war and how it affects the human mind. definitaly a must see if anyone wishes to join the military or knows someone in the army, or watch it for historical knowledge. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/06/25 Full Review Chris H Just dull. A war film with very little war in it, but not much exploration of the characters either. There's one interesting moment about 20 minutes from the end, where the two US soldiers are desperate to shoot somebody, but are not allowed to. For that moment you see the damaged humans they are presumably meant to be. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/06/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Jarhead

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now