Within the first twenty minutes of Sam Mendes' Jarhead, two scenes had already played out that didn't sit right with me. In one, Swoff, played by Jake Gylenhaal, is drawing out the proper diagram of how a Marine's footlocker should be laid out, all while his drill sergeant is choking him. In the second scene, Swoff's platoon is involved in an exercise whereas they crawl on their bellies under barbed wire as live machine gun rounds scream over their heads. Needless to say, one hapless Marine freaks out, stands up, and takes a bullet in the brain, only to have his bleeding corpse belittled by Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx).

When I'm watching a movie “based on true events,” I usually do a little extra research to double check my facts, or to see just how much liberty was taken with the truth in order to make the movie more palatable for the audience. Apparently, Jarhead takes quite a few liberties with the truth, especially in its portrayal of its eponymous “jarheads” (a nickname for the Marines referring to their distinctive high-and-tight haircuts as well as their heads being likened to an empty vessel for the Corps to fill). It causes a slight case of schizophrenia in the film, as its attempts at gritty realism are shot down by glaring errors or unbelievable scenes, whereas its moments of sardonic humor can be bogged down by the overall tone of gritty realism.

First off, for those expecting Jarhead to be a traditional war movie, remember that it takes place during Operation: Desert Shield/Operation: Desert Storm, perhaps one of the least traditional wars of the 20th century. There are no D-Day beach stormings or jungle strafings with helicopters, just waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. Swoff and his fellow soldiers pass the time the best they can: playing football, getting drunk off contraband booze, setting up a “wall of shame” for pictures of unfaithful wives and girlfriends, and slowly going nuts in the desert heat waiting for action.

This is where the movie shines its brightest. When it's picking apart the young Marines interacting with each other and aching for combat, its truly great filmmaking. The amazing ensemble cast, including Jake Gylenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, and many others, brings these slightly cartoony characters to mad life, as they train hard, play harder, and hydrate in the desert heat.

But these great scenes of character development are soured by attempts to make the story more “dramatic” by adding in bits of drama that seem way too hard to swallow. Take for example, the previously mentioned scenes of drill-sergeant violence and live-ammo exercise. While it's certainly not unheard of for a drill sergeant to get physical with new recruits, it's damn rare. But an exercise where a soldier has to crawl under a spray of incoming bullets? No way.

That's what bothered me the most with Swoff's story in the movie. In his original book (and thus the screenplay), he populated his platoon with a cast of “Marine urban legends,” a few horror stories told throughout the Corps. The main problem with this is that he completely blurs the line between an allegedly “real-life account” and complete and utter fiction. Who can say that his base story and experiences are factual when he's taking liberties with the background characters?

Given the recent pedigree of the movie, one can be certain that the DVD looks good, and it does. The muted desert palette (shot in Mexico in lieu of Saudi Arabia) and overexposed lighting are perfectly represented with no flaws to be seen whatsoever. The surround mix for the audio is top shelf as well, with spare use of the surround channels (although they pipe up loud and clear in a few select scenes), clear dialogue, and a rich score. Special kudos have to go to Thomas Newman for one of the best, most organic film scores I've ever heard, period. Extras are pretty hefty, and include two commentary tracks, a boatload of deleted scenes, and the complete series of interviews filmed for an important scene in the film.

Jarhead comes with both a recommendation and a warning. As a character drama, it's phenomenal, with well-acted roles and beautiful direction. As a military film, however, its glaring inaccuracies work against it. Sure, it's not portraying the Marines as a total bunch of buzz-cut psychos like some films have, but its falsehoods still show up loud and clear.