Viewers hoping for a brutal, pitch-black war comedy along the lines of M*A*S*H are in for a major disappointment. English director Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY, ROAD TO PERDITION) drains Anthony Swofford's scathing, hilariously profane memoir about his stint as a Marine Corps sniper during the first Gulf War of much of its righteous anger and settles for a yellow-bellied account of one moody, not particularly likeable young man's time in the desert. Camp Pendleton, Calif., 1989: The son of a Vietnam vet, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) begins to question the wisdom of joining the U.S. Marine Corps the day he gets his head smashed into a chalk board by his drill ins...
Released:
2005
Rated:
R
Length:
115 mins