Well, after some indecision last weekend, I finally did get out to see Jarhead late this afternoon. And my conclusion is, it was a very well-made movie that I didn't like even one little bit.
The acting was top notch. It was another great turn from director Sam Mendes as well, with very neat imagery and clearly a lot of thought behind the filming. It was also mind-numbingly dull, and had me looking at my watch almost from beginning to end.
Of course, on some level it was supposed to be mind-numbingly dull, is the funny thing. The whole point of the movie was not political, but rather was the tale of a guy who really wanted to go to war, kick some ass, and kill people, and gets robbed of the opportunity. But in depicting his boredom with his situation, I think the movie bores its audience.
And moreover, you're either on board with the main character, or you're not. If you can get at all into the mindset of a guy who wants to kill people, then you can probably get on board with this movie and enjoy it. But if you can't identify with this bloodthirst, there's nothing here for you. Being upset that you didn't have to take lives during a war? Aw, I suppose your diamond-studded shoes are too tight, as well?
I accept there are those with this sort of mindset. I accept that these people are the backbone of the armed forces. I'm glad they're there to do the work and I'm not. But it's such an alien mindset to me that I regretted giving two hours of my life over to it.
So, in the end, it's almost impossible for me to try to grade this movie. I suppose I give it a C. It's simply too well-made, having too many amazing artistic qualities and tons of great acting, to give it any less. But I didn't like it, so I certainly won't grade it any higher.
2 comments:
I wonder, did the character in the movie ever consider video games? Grand Theft Auto was made for guys like that :-)
sounds like they advertised a different movie. the commercials made it look different than what you described...
-the mole
Eh? I feel like you watched a different movie than I did. The movie to me was about Swofford's ambivalence about being a soldier. While he got into the "red mist" mindset during training, once he actually got sent off to war he saw how unglamorous the life of a soldier was and, indeed, nearly broke down while out there. Hence the line toward the end about how much his partner wanted to be a marine but couldn't while he couldn't wait to get out.
That said, I can certainly understand feeling bored by the movie. There was very little action - a lot of scenes of soldiers sitting around in the desert with too much time on their hands. The movie also didn't have any elegant point to make beyond the fact that the life of a soldier is anything but glamorous.
Still, as I commented in your first post about the movie, it did it for me. I enjoyed the character drama.
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