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Jarhead is an ambitious movie. All war movies are, whether they confess it or not.

Arguments like “but there are no A-list actors” ring a bit false because Jake Gyllenhaal’s damn close to A-list status with the crop of 2005 (Brokeback Mountain, Proof, Jarhead). Sam Mendes is definitely on MY A-list (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) and Walter Murch… is on TOP of my best editor’s list (he made Apocalypse Now and The English Patient work so seamlessly).

The movie opens with a familiar scene - Marines in a boot camp. Too familiar. It’s an almost perfect copy of Kubrick’s superior Full Metal Jacket. Jake’s character - Swofford - perhaps surprisingly is a real person and author of the autobiographical book which this movie is based on. The movie obviously tried to keep the realism of the book.

The Marines undergo training and humiliation in equal measure although we do get to see only the latter. Jake’s invited by Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) to join a sniper squad. Predictably, Jake is one of only eight to pass the training and become a sniper. His spotter is Troy (Peter Sarsgaard, last seen in Garden State), who’s dream is to become a Marine (duh!).

Once Act I is gone and the Marines move to the Saudi desert, we are exposed to the endless boredom and tedium of constant readiness and no action. The days, the sand, the heat… all blend together in a visually stunning but emotionally very dry experience. I didn’t care for any of those. I hoped we’ll get some early frags, KIA’s, MIA’s, or anything else that could spice it up.

Jarhead borrows from several classics yet the scenes fail to match the originals. One example is the appearance of Arabs and camels to be contronted by our protagonist- very similar to David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. If we compare the two scenes, Jarhead’s ark seems to be mundane-buildup-disappointment. David Lean’s famous scene on the other hand starts with a mirage, goes through a bloody conflict and transcends to re-affirm the bond between Lawrence and the desert and its people.

Chris Cooper steals his scene as Lt. Col. Kazinski. In his minute of screen time, he reaches out to George C. Scott’s Patton and gets a nod for his performance.

When the movie finally seems to pick up steam near the climax, Jake gets a cold shower and so do we. I won’t spoil it for you, you might get it on a DVD or as a torrent.

I did find some scenes very funny as they took me back to my days in the military (Disclosure: I’m a lieutenant). My girlfriend found it excruciatingly boring though so it’s definitely not a date movie. From a certain perspective, it’s good that Sam Mendes doesn’t score a 10 with this movie either. That way, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for his next movie.