Jarhead 2: Tormenta de fuego

I enjoyed the first 'Jarhead' film and was curious as to what any 'sequel' would be like. However, at least I kept my expectations low as I knew this was not produced by the same cast or crew as the first, plus part II was released straight-to-DVD, so, how good could it be? The answer... quite good actually, but only as a generic war film, rather than a sequel.

Okay, so occasionally the film mimics the original in style (think captions, mainly near the beginning) and it uses the term 'jarhead' a couple of times, but that's about it. In fact... I'm running out of other things that link the two films.

So, the best thing to do is basically just ignore everything you know about the first movie and go with what's on offer. And, what's on offer is a war movie set in modern Afghanistan. A small team of marines (or 'jarheads' to be precise) are on a routine mission, only to find themselves forced to protect an important female local as she travels across arguably one of the most dangerous regions in the world.

Bottom line: if you like war films, you'll probably enjoy this. It's actually got a half reasonable budget and doesn't feel too much like a straight-to-DVD movie.

The film starts with an American base under attack. They've positioned their base just below the hilltop....so when the Taliban attacks they simply shoot down into the base.

I have no military experience whatsoever but even I know that their base is badly situated. Found it difficult to take the rest of the film seriously.

When I first saw that there was going to be a sequel to Jarhead I already felt disappointed, I was a huge fan of the first movie and did not feel it ever needed a sequel. Hearing that it was action in this movie made me even worse as one of the main themes of the first Jarhead was the lack of action.

However I must say after watching this I would say I was pleasantly surprised and do not feel it soiled the Jarhead name like one of those sequels that makes fans pretend it never happened. It started off slow and uninteresting. I thought the main character himself was quite underdeveloped but once this movie gets going you do start to care for these characters. I think the main character could have been a lot more human than just being a marine as I couldn't relate to him. Warning lots of Hu-Rah's and Hell Yea's.

The script itself could have done with a little more polishing with some scenes feeling they could have had more of an impact but there is some intense scenes in this movie which is what I like in an action movie. There was one or two cliché moments but aside from that this was a pretty strong movie. It carried some important messages about how bad situations build great bonds. It also has the sort of Saving Private Ryan "How can one person be so important" cliché. It still pulls it off though.

So go into this with an open mind unlike me. Go in and just have a good time with this.

I personally don't mind if more Jarhead movies come out now as long as they all carry different messages and they are made to be stand alone movies.

I'm not a fan of the first "Jarhead" film, that was one of the most disappointing & boring "War" films I've ever seen & yes i got that was the point abit you know the frustrating part lol anyway that was crap but this by name only Sequel "Jarhead 2: Field of Fire" is better & its a low-budget DTV film!!!!

The cast is good because here we have the great veteran STEPHEN LANG (Don't Breathe, VFW) who is the Major of the team of marines out in the dangerous death trap of Iraq & his presence is definitely needed to raise it up in quality & by his serious performance as the other youngsters are the typical loud, mouthy & trying-to-be-funny typical squad in these types of war action flicks except for when the excellent, underrated but great COLE HAUSER comes into the movie as a special forces soldier trying to transport an Iraq woman to safety, she's important & that's his mission out there. HAUSER is always a welcomed tough hero presence in anything, been a fan since Pitch Black & he's always a solid actor & steals the show in everything like for example "Tears of the Sun" he was better than Bruce Willis!!!! Anyway the guy is great & here he's the best character in the movie & gives the best performance.

This is a typical mission behind enemy lines type of war action flick & it's done pretty well with a gritty look & plenty of action packed shootout scenes.

I didn't like the typical "Country Music" & "Rap music" used at the beginning because it's so typical & boring now but the actual film was fairly decent even though it felt like so many I've seen & by the end it gets abit boring & it plays out exactly like you know it will but worth a watch but that's it & i only watched it became of Cole Hauser.

The 3rd in the Jarhead franchise is easily the best "The Siege" that flick is Awesome!!!

Marine Corporal Chris Merrimette reluctantly takes a promotion from Major James Gavins (Stephen Lang) as the new leader of his supply squad after his sergeant gets killed by the Taliban. He is eager to return to his wife. His unit consists of Corporal Danny Kettner (Bokeem Woodbine), Lance Corporal Dani Allen, Private Rafael Soto, and Private Justin Li. Afghan Army Private Khalid Hassan Abu Faisal joins them on a resupply mission to a dangerous outpost. They are retasked when they pick up a SEAL team trying to evacuate an anti-Taliban activist.

The interesting thing about the first Jarhead is that the guy struggled with a war which doesn't need him. This is almost an opposite premise. Chris can't wait to get out of the war that desperately needs him. I'm fine with a completely new premise for a completely new war. There is plenty of gunfire action which is more than what I expect from a TV movie. The realism is debatable and that's no small thing. I really question Kettner pulling Faisal off the garbage pile. It would be more real to run away and let the new Arab take the bomb blast if that's what he wants. That conflict between realistic and unrealistic never goes away. I'm sure others have different ideas. The kill ratio seems high. Several times, the guys wipe out the entire opposition. The final rescue mission seems unrealistic. I don't know why they didn't at least try the Taliban's trucks. The realism questioning goes on and on. It's not Rambo but it's not that far from it. Some of the masked Taliban fighters look white. At least, the setting looks good.