That was an excellent one.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Heartbreak Ridge (1986) Plot In A Paragraph: Tom Highway (Eastwood) a hard nosed, hard drinking Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.Clint took time out from his busy schedule or being the Mayor of Carmel, to direct and star in another of my favourite Eastwood flicks. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Highway may be politically incorrect and out of touch with modern techniques (How many times has a Clint character being called a dinosaur, a relic, a caveman?? It's a label often threw at him) but he is a hoot!! And boy does he get the job done!! Talking a lot more than your standard Eastwood character, Highway backs up his foul mouthed gravel voiced words with actions too. One of my favourite Eastwood characters hands down. Of the supporting cast Mario Van Peebles is brilliant as Stitch, he had a great chemistry with Eastwood and I'm surprised he never used him again. Tom Villard gets the laughs as Profile, Everett McGill is suibtably annoying as Major Powers, as is Moses Gunn as Sgt Webster whilst Arlen Dean Snyder stands out as Sgt Major Choozoo.The professional relationship between Clint Eastwood and longtime producer/associate Fritz Manes came to a bitter end during the making of this movie. This was the last film Manes ever worked on. Rumour has it, Clint had his secretary fire him by telephone!! He was a trusted Malpaso regular (every movie he produced was Clint related, with the exception of Ratboy with Sondra Locke) so it must have been something big!! Despite a flat trailer and one of the worst posters of Eastwood's filmography, Heartbreak Ridge grossed $42 million at the domestic box office to end 1986 the 18th highest grossing movie of the year.

I know it is going to be good! The only question is how good!? Let's start watching it.28minutes - I enjoy it a lot so far. It is really interesting because main character played by Clint Eastwood is unpredictable, you never know what will happen next with him. Movie is full of funny situations, lines and you really can't wait to see more.1h 13minutes - OK it is getting a little boring... It feels like everything went in slow motion and I'm not talking about fancy special effects here... I still want to see more though 1h 33minutes - every time they leave military base the movie is getting dull... The good thing is that those moments last only a couple of minutes. I think the statement I made at the beginning was...hmm... let's say... a little overenthusiastic...1h 48minutes - lol... really...? I didn't think this is gonna be that kind of a movie... bulletproof good guys, zero causalities and the enemies who can't shoot...oh my dear god...WAIT!... one good guy just died!The movie is a little retarded and cheesy... but it is funny as well, especially at the beginning. I really hoped for something else... half of it is good and the other half is just eh... Maybe I jinxed it with my first sentence...?If you like Clint Eastwood/army or both, you shouldn't be disappointed... BUT I WAS ! tgchan's rating: 6/10

I loved this movie with the exception that it was filmed on the wrong coast. I'm a Marine from the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which is the unit they are supposed to be in. It definitely is not Camp Lejeune, NC. No mountains there. If it had been shot on location it would have been perfect. As for the Recon being as undisciplined as they were, it was on the extreme side of reality. Recon did get away with a lot compared to other grunts but there are perks to being in an elite unit. Most of the actors did a pretty good job portraying Marines. This is in my top three movies about Marines. Being a Marine is a part of my life I will never forget. One last thing, it was said the Marine Corps disowned this movie officially when it came out. This was said because of the foul language. Reality, Marines cuss, and often, it is a fact. The move was only for PC reasons. Ask most Marines and they liked the movie.

What was it about the 1980s and films sets in boot camp? That is what I kept wondering to myself while watching Clint Eastwood's effort in the sub-genre "Heartbreak Ridge". I also wondered how much there really is to say about a pretty average film that doesn't attempt to say anything at all. Let us find out! The opening credits feature military archive footage in black and white that slowly take us to a holding cell in the summer of 1983, featuring a jailed Eastwood telling stories to the other inmates about his time in the Marine Corp. It is during this sequence that the photography turns to color, and we to a present day mindset where Eastwood's Sgt. Highway is a washed up has been. The film's title is a reference to the military campaign during the Korean War where Highway tells one character he went to college, but as we find out later, is where he earned the Medal of Honor."Heartbreak Ridge" might be the first film where Eastwood acknowledges his age. Speaking in a gruffer snarl than we have heard from him in previous films, he seems to be settling into the 'wise old grump' personality that he would continue to develop for the rest of his career. Eastwood feels older than ever as he attempts to whip some ridiculously insubordinate Marines into shape before the invasion of Grenada, especially when he says to one of them, "Shut your face, hippie!" The main problem with the film is that we spend too much time with Highway and the recruits in boot camp. At over two hours in length, the movie might have benefited if it cut out some of the subplots and shenanigans, which take up over half the film and rely on a sense of humor that feels extremely dated over twenty five years later. These scenes might have been more enjoyable if the supporting cast had been at least halfway decent. Instead, we have Mario Van Peebles as the main (i.e. most annoying) comic relief, and a cartoonish villain in the form of Everett McGill playing Eastwood's Commanding Officer. And a subplot involving Highway's ex-wife feels underdeveloped and leaves much to be desired.So where does that leave us, exactly? While this may be THE film about the 1983 U.S. led invasion of Grenada (I can't think of any others), it disappears against a decade full of military training films dealing specifically with a boot camp setting. I promised myself I would not mention the king of this sub-genre that was released a year later, "Full Metal Jacket". While Kubrick's film certainly provides some chuckles with the delivery of the drill sergeant's insults, Eastwood's film depends on humor to get it through most of its running time, hardly any of it actually being funny. When it finally does get serious, it does not go all the way, and really ends up only being a film where Eastwood gets to act old and mean around a bunch of younger slobs in 80s attire.