Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

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...

Technorati Tags: war movie reviews, grenada, usmc, marines, clint eastwood, mario van peebles, heartbreak ridge, 1986

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Description

Clint Eastwood is dynamic as a grizzled Marine gunnery sergeant and seasoned combat veteran nearing the end of his service to the Corps. Saddled with training a platoon of misfits, Eastwood will have to hammer his bottom-of-the-barrel unit into a fighting force before the invasion of Grenada while trying to reconnect with his ex-wife (Marsha Mason). With Mario Van Peebles, Everett McGill, Moses Gunn. 130 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, French; theatrical trailer.

The controversial, Reagan-era invasion of Grenada by U.S. troops is, oddly enough, at the center of this initially interesting story of a seasoned Marine sergeant (Clint Eastwood) routinely insulted by younger officers for being a symbol of the war that America "lost" in Vietnam. Looking for both a victory and a little redemption, Eastwood's character trains a squadron of scrappy pups and turns them into fighting grunts, just in time to follow White House orders and take the little island. Marsha Mason plays Eastwood's love interest, and Mario Van Peebles is funny as an undisciplined con artist who joins Clint's men and finally catches the spirit after getting his butt kicked a few times. --Tom Keogh

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Brand: EASTWOOD,CLINT
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Original Release Date:
Actors:

• Clint Eastwood
• Bo Svenson

Reviews

Related posts:

1. Platoon (1986)
2. Top Gun (1986, Blu Ray)

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 5:36 am and is filed under 1980s, Other War Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.