On March 7 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment comes Jarhead , a modern day war-drama film that, thanks to director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition), deals with more of a soldier’s point of view than a political platform. Based on the book Jarhead by ex- sniper scout marine Anthony Swofford, the film deals with the soldiers sent into combat during the first Gulf War.

The movie begins following new marine recruit Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he starts his basic training in the United States Marine Corp., and although he has regrets that he’s joined the marines, he soon meets Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx) who asks him to join (or try out if you will) the elite sniper scout platoon. So now that Swofford has joined this wonderful group he starts to settle in a bit and even makes a few friends including his new best friend Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), a dedicated gung ho soldier whose found the one place in the world he belongs.

So the sniper scout platoon hones its skills and settle in until they get called up to go to Iraq for Operation Dessert Shield-Storm, which as we all remember was a relatively short lived conflict with very few casualties (on the American side at least). So after a little combat and a lot of stir crazy derived activities, the boys are once again headed home, all changed a little to boot.

Now I've heard a few references to another war movie from a few people who have recently seen Jarheads. The movie I refer too is Full Metal Jacket, and after some deep thought on the topic I've decided that using FMJ as a comparison is pretty accurate. I really believe that Sam Mendes must have been trying to emulate FMJ at least a little bit. The reason I say this is that the first half of the film took place in boot camp and then switched gears completely for the second half when the soldiers are in combat. That sense of two different films coming together to show the relationships between the soldiers and a little of why they are all crazy in their own ways is a great concept for film making (at least for combat-war movies). But I do have to point out that the movie, while similar to FMJ, didn’t pull off the second half as good as it could have. There was a definite lack of needed action in the film. Although the film is labeled as a war drama and doesn’t call itself an action film i've always thought that action was implied in the war genre.

What it all boils down to is this is a film that deals more with the emotions the American soldier can go through in boot camp and then in a war time setting. When watching Jarheads there’s a very strong underlying story that deals with relationships between soldiers and their wives and girlfriends who are usually thousands of miles away. Now having had quite a few friends in the military including a brother who is serving right now, I know that this is a definite area of concern amongst our soldiers so it didn’t bother me seeing it in the film, other than the fact that it feels a little out of place in a movie that’s supposed to be showing more in the way of war scenarios.

I have also decided another thing I can respect about Jarheads is the lack of political agenda (its about time).. every movie made about war doesn’t have to be made to appease the masses. As a matter of fact this movie is one of very few that does one thing, it tells a story about soldiers, to soldiers. So if this is what Mendes had in his mind when he made this film then he hit the nail on the head. I think it’s great that a director took a biography based story and didn’t chop the hell out of it in order to add pizzazz to a film. Granted It helped that the writer of the book wrote the screenplay and helped keep the movie on track.

I also have to mention the good acting on behalf of the actors in this film, especially that of Jamie Foxx. I was a little worried when I saw he was cast in a serious role when he’s a better comedy actor (other than ray which was great). But after seeing him in this film I've decided I better cut him some slack, he did an excellent job at playing a seasoned marine sergeant and he didn’t get put in more scenes than needed which happens a lot in movies lately when someone’s considered hot in Hollywood.

As for the other actors, I don’t know if members of the elite marine core are that crazy but that’s obviously what they were going for in this film and I can honestly say they achieved it. What attracted me to this film in the first place was the cinematography and film work I saw in the screeners and the film doesn’t come up short with that at all. As a matter of fact I think Mendes is heading down a path that can only make his career soar with the direction he gives to his cameras. I don’t mean to come across like I was enthralled by Jarheads. I definitely think it’s a good war movie but when I hear it called “Platoon for generation x”, I completely disagree. As a matter of fact there’s no way id even call this a top ten war film, and I don’t see it getting any awards for film of the year. Like I said there was a definite lacking of action scenes that are necessary for a successful war movie and I was a little put off by a dream sequence scene that felt out of place in this movie.

So in closing Jarheads is not the best war film ever made, far from it but it felt very realistic and the underlying drama in the film was pretty good so I recommend watching it when you have the chance. The Jarheads DVD I reviewed is a two disk collector’s edition. And for anyone that likes the film, your going to like the bonus material as well which includes: Deleted scenes; Full news interviews; Jarhead diaries; in depth interviews; and much more. Jarheads the collector’s edition on DVD is on sale March 7 and is rated R. Gameshark gives Jardhead a "B-."