Eastwood at his best as GySgt Tom Highway providing every effort to make sense out of the challenges of dealing with ill-prepared USMC troops… and he succeeds, as do they. Some viewers may find the colorfully raw language offensive, in which case "The Sound of Music" might be more appropriate. The first half is devoted to the trials and tribulations of boot camp, while the last half deals with the invasion of Grenada in 1983. One could almost characterize this plot as a kinder, gentler version of "Full Metal Jacket," but even that is a stretch.
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This has got to be one of the longest, boring movie I have ever watched. If you like to see a bunch of grown men with make up on their faces running around with guns and shooting them, than this movies for you, it is definitely not a chick flick although Bo Svenson’s acting was superb and as always, he is great to look at. As the bar owner he did not have to run around with a gun and face paint. The only scenes that I truly enjoyed were the ones that Bo was in.
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Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, Absolute Power, Unforgiven, etc) plays a tough as nails marine sargeant named Tom Highway, who has got his work cut out for himself when he is assigned to whip a platoon of unruly recon Marines into shape. He faces his own personal problems also, when he finds his wife played by Marsha Mason ( The Goodby Girl, Nick of Time, Tv series FRASER seasons 4 & 5) works near the base he is assigned too. He also encounters a by-the -book commander and a platoon leading lietentant that has no experience at all. Still he manages to train his troops and command their respect - lessons that are put to use when the Grenada invasion suddenly brings the platoon into battle. The movie is also directed by Eastwood, who has done great in that role ( Changeling, Gran Torino, Unforgiven all self-directed). His work in that position in this movie is a bit below par though, as the combat scenes are not top notch. Still a very entertaining movie that war movie lovers will enjoy as well as devotees of action & adventure also to some extent. Good enough for a good nights entertainment certainly for most people.Read full review
Heartbreak Ridge is loosely based on actual events; although in real life, Recon Marines were not involved. The story goes the U.S.Army would not sign off on it due to the script's poetic license in straying far from some truths. I can respect that. This is still a pretty decent film. The interaction between Clint Eastwood and Mario Van Peebles is priceless. I had one of those once; but he had no musical talent, just lived to aggrevate his sergeant. Disregard the fact that director and writer present the Marines as if they had never been through basic training, that if you bunch up in combat you're dead, that a 40 mike mike can ruin anyone's day, and that the Congressional Medal of Honor deserves a salute from all military personnel. Clint Eastwood is a well seasoned gunnery sergeant having served during the Korean Conflict in the Army and three tours in Vietnam as a Marine. He's as salty as they come and as a good sergeant, he turns a group of brats into Marines. He also has issues concerning an ex wife to work through. There are several light moments and a couple classic lines. Barracks talk is at a minimum. I had this on VHS and had to have it on DVD, so it has been watched more than a couple times. If you like Clint Eastwood, you should like this film. If not for the writers' too vivid imagination in spots and breaks from the reality of combat, it would have earned an "excellent" rating from me.Read full review
Casual comedy of a serious situation. More funny than the actual experiences incurred during that time, some rather terrible acting when it came to the confrontations as the actors appeared more intent on shooting the sky than the enemy in front of them. Rather bad shots missing more than hitting and considering these were supposed to be elite forces I was disappointed in this aspect, not realizing years back when I first viewed the flick just how bad their aim was. Other than that it was indeed a very entertaining movie giving a personal side to the life of a retiring old geezer that took serious what the meaning of war is. He takes a group of otherwise happless jarheads (God bless them ALL!) and turns them into a machine that can do what needs to be done. The movie shows what needs to be done in times of terrorist activity and why we need to have a fighting force ready at all times, unlike what the new Commander in Chief feels is necessary for the survival of the USA. Not trying to be too political but if the new CIC has his way the ragtag group shown in the beginning will be what goes to war rather than what Clint forges them into by the end of the movie. Many funny scenes, some bit of drama inserted as his past comes screcching into his life again and the whole story ends on a good 'evil falls and good reigns supreme' ending, making one want to say GOD BLESS AMERICA!Read full review
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