Jarhead The Horror of Training for War

Sam Medes is one of the brightest young directors in Hollywood.  His previous two films American Beauty and Road to  Perdition were each critcally lauded.  His latest, Jarhead,  is based on the best-selling 2003 memoir by a veteran of the first Gulf War.  It's not really a war movie since there is no combat to speak of.  Instead, it focuses of the training and tedium that takes place on the front lines.   

The protaganist is Tony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal).  We meet him as he arrives for basic training.  Some of the early scenes  echo Full Metal Jacket, but are nonetheless effective on their own.  Swofford becomes a sniper and is paired with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) as his spotter. More training continues led by Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx).  

The only "combat" death we see is during these sessions.  Soon the group is deployed to Saudi Arabia to defend against Hussein in the summer of 1990.  The troops are pumped, wanting action.  But they soon realize combat is not in the horizon.  As the summer heat bakes the men, they start to lose it.  Being trained to be hyperactive killing machines does not coincide with months of inaction.  

Finally when the war does start, the air assault all but destroys the Iraqi army.  His unit doesn't see any action at all before the end of  Desert Storm.  The sense is, the men were all dressed up with nowhere to go.  I found this all to be quite fascinating, but not terribly engaging. 

The life of the grunt on the ground, that DOESN'T get to experience combat, has never been told before. Many of the vignettes were things seldom seen before in war movies. The boredom...cabin fever...etc., that sets in waiting for action.