Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 40
  2. Negative: 2 out of 40
  1. 88
    It is not often that a movie catches exactly what it was like to be this person in this place at this time, but Jarhead does.
  2. 88
    Jarhead is about how the experience of being in the military fundamentally changes an individual. In this case, the focus isn't about the madness of slaughter in the jungle, but the madness of inaction in the desert.
  3. It's a unique vision of war from the point of view of a Marine who never pulled a trigger against a foe.
  4. The sum of the movie is devastating. One takes out of it a sense that the human cost of our endless adventure in Iraq is going to be incalculable, perhaps catastrophic -- a psychological time bomb that will be exploding for decades to come.
  5. Jarhead isn't overtly political, yet by evoking the almost surreal futility of men whose lust for victory through action is dashed, at every turn, by the tactics, terrain, and morality of the war they're in, it sets up a powerfully resonant echo of the one we're in today.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 169 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 94
  2. Negative: 21 out of 94
  1. One of my favorite movies but not for everyone. I was expecting a war film such as the classic Saving Private Ryan or even We Were Soldiers but this film is not like that at all. This film focuses on the psyche of a soldier. It focuses on the relationships and all the rubbish they have to go through for an ultimately disappointing and unfulfilled life. Watch this expecting a classic war film, hate it. Watch this expecting something else and you might just enjoy it. Easily in my top 10. Full Review »
  2. A film that keeps you thinking the big payoff is just around the corner... then nothing happens. Perhaps this is an intentional analogy of the main character's military life or perhaps the film is just stilted and boring. I felt completely disconnected from the characters and their attempts to convey the emotions of overseas deployment elicited nothing more than a shoulder shrug. Full Review »
  3. Most of the people who have had something negative say about the movie are most likely stuck up civilians who always get what they want. To actually relate to this film you have to be a jarhead yourself. I found this movie very comforting because I can relate to it. No marines wear suits like that in 112 degree weather but that didn't detract my view of the movie. I gave this movie an 8 because marines go through things like that including suicide. Good job representing the devil dogs. Oorah! Full Review »