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| Pretty dead on by Lizard_King 12/10/2005, 8:12pm PST | ||||
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| Where to begin? I thought it was a very accurate depiction of the non-life that is a 4 year "career" in the enlisted ranks of the Marine infantry. The hazing, the bullshit, the male bonding, the difficulty any marine has in quantifying what really makes his job worthwhile, it's all there. Bonus points for its visualization of a backwards ass combat deployment, something I can definitely relate to...if there were problems, they were ones already put in place to a lesser degree by the book. That is, the stereotypical characters, for instance. The funny thing is that a lot of those stereotypes really are prevalent in the Corps, but it seemed like the one-dimensional personalities many of them displayed were more a product of insufficient character development than of some extremely brutal brand of honesty.
I liked Gylenhaal's performance, as well as most of the other actors who are normally not my favourites. The little bits like the ridiculous asskickery speech by their colonel were spot-on, and I liked how subtly the control (in a negative sense) that superiors exercise over every aspect of a Marine's life was emphasized in various scenes. Seeing moments like the porno video from the wife was extra amusing, having seen similar (but not quite so extreme) dear john "letters" during the course of the last deployment. I've heard people knock on the opening sequences as derivative of Full Metal Jacket; I think what people fail to realize is that is not Swofford's fault. Rather, it is an open question what proportion of Marine boot camp traditions are genuinely influenced by tradition and which are simply derived from the movies, as not-so-bright morale minions try to bring to life some mythical Old Corps chock full of piss and vinegar. Of recent books that speak honestly about the Corps, I would say the top two are this one and Generation Kill. Since the latter is unlikely to become a movie, I would say that I am quite satisfied with what we've got so far. It does a good job of looking behind the wizard's curtain without shitting all over everything, which is difficult for civilians to do. |
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HEY LIZARD_KING! by 12/09/2005, 6:35pm PST  Pretty dead on by 12/10/2005, 8:12pm PST |
