In the vein of such military courtroom dramas as A Few Good Men and The Caine Mutiny, comes Rules of Engagement. The short version: One Marine Corps. Col. Terry Childers (Samuel L. Jackson) must defend his decision to fire on a crowd of protestors at the US Embassy in Yemen. Defending him is his buddy since Vietnam, who was saved by Childers in a nasty battle there, Col. Hayes Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones.)

At the core of Rules of Engagement is the entire principle of the boundaries of war. In fact one of the characters spells it out quite clearly, "There's a thin line between a war hero and a murderer." Or something to that effect. Childers has to make the best decision he can, knowing full well the consequences. Which are plentiful.

I guess since the first Gulf War (at least on the ground) only lasted a couple of months, there probably aren't a lot of stories to tell.  At least we can fall back on Three Kings to fill in the gap.

Somewhat a re-telling of the Kelly's Heroes story, it follows four soldiers in their quest to steal some Kuwaiti gold bricks out of the hands of Saddam's army, after the war is over.  Unlike with Kelly's bunch, though, things go terribly, terribly awry in a surreal series of events that wind up telling more of the story that needs to be told more often.

Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) catches wind of the map that Sgt. Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg), Chief Elgin (Ice Cube), and Pfc. Vig (Spike Jonze) find in a surrendering Iraqi's, um, backside.  Once they figure out what they've got, they set out on their quest in true '90s style.

Man, I just lost two hours and change of my life that I can't get back watching this film.  Ugh.  Here's the short version:  Guy joins the Corps, becomes a sniper, goes to Kuwait in Desert Shield/Storm, and nothing happens.

Nothing. Zero. Zip. Zilch. They go to boot camp, "hurry up and wait", march through some friendly fire and the burning oil fields, almost get to take a shot but are cut short by an overriding air strike...  No-thing!

Is that the point of this picture?  I think in a way it is.  At the end I might've had a glimpse into the meaning of it all, when the Vietnam vet jumps on the bus and welcomes them all home, and sits down with them....   I guess to say that no matter what the experiences a war might put a person through, be it the beaches of some Pacific island, the jungles of Vietnam, or a short stint in a burning, oily desert with nary a shot fired... those experiences are all equally valid, take the same (to a degree) toll on the person, and should be recognized, honored, and remembered.

OK, I'll give you that.  Point taken, but geez, could something have happened along the way?   The almost Full Metal Jacket copycat first half in boot camp was a bit much to swallow, there were just too many similarities to ignore, and then later with the "this is my new best friend" bit in the desert.  Then there's the portrayal of the guys of my generation as a group of partying idiotic morons who want nothing else but simply to kill someone.  Gung Ho is one thing, but really.

I can't say much else, really.  Something comes to mind about "if you can't say anything nice..."  So, you'll understand if I leave Jarhead with a dreadful three.  Just don't bother.

On another note, I really would like to see some more movies come out of the first Gulf War.  Other than the fair but bizarre "Three Kings", and sorta-kinda the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate"... oh and "In The Army Now" with Pauly Shore....   I'm reaching to come up with any more titles.  Fill me in if I'm missing anything.

Oh, I almost forgot... and Jarhead stars Jake Gyllenahall as our "hero" Anthony Swofford, some other guys I can't say I've heard of (but play idiots and rednecks rather well), and Jamie Foxx as the flat Staff Sgt. Sykes.

Technorati Tags: war movie reviews, jarhead, 2006, jake gyllenhaal, jamie foxx, gulf war, kuwait, iraq, 1991, marines, usmc