And then there was... Grenada?  Lost in the midst of "the big ones" was this tiny little intervention in the early 1980's.  1986's Heartbreak Ridge ends up focusing on that particular conflict in the end, but takes us through one platoon's journey from slackerdom to full-out Marines.

Seasoned veteran of Korea and Vietnam, Gunnery Sgt. Tom Highway (Clint Eastwood) returns to his old stomping ground as an instructor.  He visits a lot of ghosts from his past, including his old love interest, Aggie (Marsha Mason) and the fellow Marine he saved in Vietnam.  The stereotypical gung-ho supply officer turned base commander, Major Powers (Everett McGill) is there, along with the also stereotypical "college boy" Lieutenant.

On his way back to base, he meets up with a "punk" named "Stitch" Jones (Mario Van Peebles), who strands him at a bus stop/diner.  When he arrives on base, and finally meets his squadron of misfits, Stitch is there, leading the mission of mediocrity.

Gunny Highway proceeds to whip this group of misfits back into shape "old school" style, and in the process one-ups the base commander and his pet squadron.  He also makes amends with Aggie along the way.

But, as things go, they're called up to rescue a group of students from the island of Grenada, and their fighting skills are put to the test.  Of course they pass with flying colors, much to the dismay of Major Powers....

There are a lot of funny moments in this movie, especially during Recon platoons' training.  And unfortunately there are a few less-than-stellar musical moments with Stitch, which are nearly painful to watch and date this movie badly.

Sure its full of cliches, and typical 80's Rambo/A-Team style combat (the front-loader scene being a prime example) but overall its a great piece.  You also get some of the more memorable war movie quotes, like the entire "AK-47 assault rifle" bit...

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