At some point this weekend, I plan on seeing "Jarhead." Being the movie geek that I am, I like to read a lot of reviews on movies before I go see them. So far, the reviews on this movie have been pretty evenly split. Some love it, others hate it, some are indifferent.

Having read the book, I knew that people were going to be all over the map with the movie. First off, the book has a lot of build-up and not much of a payoff. It's a story about a Marine, trained to kill, having a war situation, and not being able to put his training to use. I remember remarking to Anya that the people making the movie were going to have a hard time translating that to screen, especially against the back catalogue of really great war movies that have come before.

But the greatness of the book isn't its war zone payoff. The greatness of the book lies (lays?) in its title. It's called "Jarhead." It's about the Marines. It's about a culture, a way of life. It's about 18-21 year old men and women willfully entering into a military service that is at times more like a cult than a branch of the military. That's mostly what the book is about. I thought if the directors and screenwriters captured that sense of what the Marine Corps is really like, then it'd be a worthwhile movie...at least for me anyway.

But with the concept of just telling what the life of a Marine is like, I knew that the film makers would have an even taller mountain to climb. If I were to tell you what Marine Corps culture was like, you'd probably not believe me. There is stuff said and stuff done in the Marines that just seems way over the top...and it is.

There is an almost infinite amount of cockiness in most of the Marines that I've known. It's hard to describe. Most of my good friends that I hung out with were a little more laid back, but there were times when all of us were your a-typical Marine. Cocky, almost to a fault. Testosterone filled. Physically fit. Chest puffed outward like a peacock. I don't know. I'm not making any sense. The only way to truly know what a Marine is like, is to be one yourself. You can hang out with Marines all day, everyday, but unless you have actually served with a Marine Corps unit, you don't truly know what the Marine Corps is like.

I feel that if the movie is able to capture at least a portion of what it's like to be a Marine, it will be a movie worth watching...at least by me anyways.

I'll gather my thoughts and post the more coherantly once I've seen the movie.

matt out