Jarhead (2005)

Jarhead rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7/10· 223K votes

Rotten Tomatoes60%

Metacritic58%

TMDb6.682/10· 3K votes

With 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7/10 on IMDb and 58/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been mixed.

About Jarhead

Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swofford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.

Cast of Jarhead

• 

  Jake Gyllenhaal

  as Anthony Swofford

• 

  Jamie Foxx

  as Staff Sgt. Sykes

• 

  Peter Sarsgaard

  as Alan Troy

• 

  Scott MacDonald

  as D.I. Fitch

• 

  Chris Cooper

  as Lt. Col. Kazinski

• 

  Laz Alonso

  as Ramon Escobar

• 

  Lucas Black

  as Kruger

• 

  Brian Geraghty

  as Fergus O'Donnell

• 

  Damion Poitier

  as Poitier

• 

  Jocko Sims

  as Julius

• 

  Dennis Haysbert

  as Major Lincoln

• 

  John Krasinski

  as Corporal Harrigan

Jarhead facts

Budget

$72M

Box office

$97.1M

Collection

Jarhead Collection

Our take on Jarhead

Sam Mendes's 2005 war drama follows US Marine Anthony Swofford through the Gulf War, from a punishing boot camp to the waiting game of the Persian Gulf. Trained and eager to fight, Swofford and his unit are held back from the action, and the film sits in that maddening limbo where boredom, heat and idleness corrode the mind. As he stews over a girlfriend who may be cheating, his mental state frays and his hunger to kill grows. This is a study of soldiering without catharsis, more about psychological attrition than combat. It rewards viewers who want a wry, unglamorous take on modern war and masculinity under pressure.