Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

This is a beautifully made, good old buddies in the service of our country styled story. A military movie based on a true short story, of the conflict, a 'Hostage' crisis in the faulklen Islands, directed by the man himself, Clint Eastwood. I remember, thinking, Eastwood's voice is at ground-zero, gravely and harsh, but it sure fits the hell into this character Gunnery Sgt. Thomas ' Gunny ' Highway. I watched in amazement, Clint is a dinosaur in this mean-as-nails-Marine film of hard driving male soldiers, who live on the edge. They fight for their country, beer, women, sports and of course the right to play, rock & roll. As the over the top. 'Stitch Jones' (Mario Van Peebles) and his guitar, is a cross between a rock-star and a used car salesman. It was just one of those poetic justice moments for me, when Tom Highway runs into Stitch after being left behind on the gray hound Then there's Aponte, a screwball and Profile, a slacker with a desire to take it easy. Lance Corporal Fragatti, a wise-guy with an attitude of wanting to do the army his way, then Quinones, a friend of all the above, and maybe the biggest of the instigators! The irreverent Everett McGill, as the adversary to Tom Highway, Major Malcolm A Powers, a regimented 'pain in the ass'. Thats right, a regular government mule, standing in the way of the working man's hero Highway. All together through, rain, mud hot 'LZ's' jungle fire fights , hostile terrorists and foreign lands to conquer, in the desert heat, no problem....it's Aggie, that Tom cannot make surrender to him. With, the Swede coming after him and the ever serious (Moses Gunn, as) Staff sergeant Webster they all will have to bend their 'Will' to the Highway. He is a solid old war-horse that keeps on going till it's all done doing.

The action was fun, the cast of wild-dogs and misfits is a perfect fit and this is another very well crafted Clint-flick, that works for me any day. Recommended for those who enjoy Eastwood or not. (*****) 10/10

Ten-hut, IMDb.com...dis-missed.

Fmovies: Another fantasy movie about Marines. Any resemblance to the truth is pure coincidence. First, recon platoons are not part of regiments or battalions. Recon platoons are part of the Division Headquarters. Recon platoons are made up of the best of the best and no recon platoon would have ever looked as sloppy as this one did in the beginning.

Second, companies are commanded by captains, not majors. When the major reported to the colonel as "Graduated from the Naval Academy, 1971" would never happen. The colonel already knows the major's background.

Also every Marine knows the Medal of Honor ribbon and every one seeing the Gunny with the ribbon would have immediately recognized that he was a Medal of Honor winner and would have immediately given him the highest respect, including the Major. The Major would have been so glad to have the Gunny in his outfit that he would been kissing his butt.

As for the Gunny firing an AK-47 at his troops to get them accustomed to hearing it fire - pure fantasy. He would have been busted out of the Marine Corps if that happened. What he would have done is take his troops to a firing range and under controlled conditions fired the weapon down range. This is done often with units to familiarize them with the sound of enemy weapons.

As for the accidental firing on the shooting range, unlikely. By the time a Marine is selected for a recon platoon, he is already highly trained in weapons and he is not likely to make a boot camp mistake.

I could go on and on about what a crappy movie this is but enough is enough.

I love all of the comments about how unrealistic this movie is...guys relax its a movie.

Apparently the movie industry should be putting big warnings up on the screen saying:

WARNING: The following movie may contain scenes that are not 100% realistic. If this offends you please stop watching the movie and order the documentary channel.

Think about what you are saying when you complain that this movie is not realistic... do you bitch and whine because the Matrix isn't real? Sit down, shut up and enjoy the movie for what it is... fiction.

Heartbreak Ridge fmovies. When I first started to watch Heartbreak Ridge, I expected another Clint Eastwood kicking but in some war movie. I was right, but I was wrong expecting this to be bad. Clint Eastwood is great as Tom Highway, a gunnery who must train troops and prepare for Grenada. He gives an excellent performance and he shows who his character really is and how good it is. Mario Van Peebles does really good as Stitch Jones. He shows his character well and I enjoyed it. The war part, which came mainly at the end, was cool enough. The directing was really good and all of the other actors were good.

Overall this movie is very cool and I recommend it to any Clint Eastwood fans. Rating 10 out of 10.

I normally don't complain about the realism of Hollywood's portrayal of the Armed Forces in it's movies, but this one is just too far out of bounds to let go. Marine recon units are the equivalent of Navy SEALS or Army Rangers. They are elite units, and discipline is strict. Back-talking your superior, whether officer or enlisted, is not tolerated a bit, and would not be attempted by junior enlisted men. Right away, you would have eliminated about half of the dialogue in this movie. Oh, well... They did get one thing right, though. Winners of the CMH (Congressional Medal of Honor) never have to salute anyone. They will always be saluted first, and will return the salute.

This is an enjoyable, if somewhat cartoonish, adventure. Eastwood plays Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway, a career United States Marine who won the Medal of Honor at Heartbreak Ridge in Korea. As he approaches retirement, Gunny Highway takes on the task of transforming a bunch of misfits into a tough Reconnaissance Platoon in time for the 1983 invasion of Granada. The film is uneven, with some moments that are brilliant and others that are embarrassingly bad. The film does not contain an accurate portrayal of Marine Recon, but it does deliver excitement and a good dose of humor. Besides, Clint Eastwood as a salty old Gunny is something that had to happen!