Aaron Hillebrandt
This movie contains some of the worst acting and clichés that I have ever seen. Add to that the fact that the acting is so bad it makes the otherwise reasonable storyline unbelievable. I'm a Marine combat veteran, and take it from me, even the combat scenes are ridiculously unreal; they have more in common with a bunch of children playing war in the backyard. What makes it even worse is the fact that an actual Marine combat veteran is an actor in the movie. Also, around the 67 minute mark, what is with the close shots being HD and the far shots being fuzzy? Oh, and one more thing. Take a good long look at the face of Natalie Roy, who plays Cathy. She is really Mark Whalberg.
areaissecure
Well, i'd say that this movie was well worth watching. You get what you pay for: the plot is not to complicated, but there are still some unexpected little details that may surprise you. I really loved Natalie Roy's performance, she's drop dead beautiful and i felt that ALL actors did quite a good job here. Mark O'Brien, who actually is a real Iraq veteran, deserves quite some respect, as he deals with his fate in such an outstanding way. The movie does not condemn those soldiers, who went to the desert to fight for their country. It also clearly states, that they were fooled to believe, that they were fighting for a just cause. So, if you are interested in a story with a lot of heart, if you like straight forward dialogues and well chosen actors: buy the DVD.
gingrat
the acting wasn't too great but i think the overall film shows a good insight into what it is like for returning war veterans. you have to remember that mark o'brien was not an actor but a war veteran himself, which i think in some ways is better than having a proper actor for the part. i was slightly annoyed at the beginning of the movie as i thought the acting was terrible but once you get past that and actually open your eyes and see what the film is really about then you could appreciate it a lot more. its obviously not the greatest war film ever made but it is a true likeness of what really goes on once they come home, there are very few films where you see them coming to terms with what has happened and trying to adjust to their normal lives, instead they other films are all "bang bang kill kill". i think they had made a good effort in executing this film, and it was nice to see some emotion from mark o'brien rather than having an actor playing the part who has no idea what war is about.
luther blissett
This is quite possibly the worst film i have ever seen, it is nothing more than a badly acted, poorly written mess of sentimental detritus! It seems the whole purpose of the film to give sympathy to the poor chap who quite literally gave an arm and a leg to go to Iraq, and while he does have my sympathy he doesn't have my attention as i was forced to turn off the film after no more than 15 minutes. It was offensive to my eyes in every way shape and form. I wasn't a fan of Jarhead, It was watchable and there was some good acting but I was still waiting to see a good film come out of the conflicts in the middle east. I think I can safely say that after this and a number of other offerings I wont be holding my breath. My advice is to watch jar-head if you want a film in this vein but don't expect to see a platoon or a full metal jacket while the movie industry lacks such basic creativity as to avoid such abject failures as this film.