Le maître de guerre

I recently revisited Heartbreak Ridge (1986) on Tubi. The plot revolves around an aging military officer seeking one final assignment before concluding his career. Tasked with training a group of misfit cadets in a last-ditch effort to reform them, he faces challenges as they resist orders, but he ultimately molds them into a disciplined unit. When they are sent to Korea, their survival hinges on applying the lessons learned.

Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino), the film also features Marsha Mason (Nick of Time), Everett McGill (Twin Peaks), Moses Gunn (Shaft), Bo Svenson (Kill Bill), and Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!).

This film serves as the serious counterpart to Major Payne. Clint Eastwood delivers an outstanding performance with the perfect demeanor, one-liners, and mannerisms, showcasing his comedic prowess and authenticity. The hard demeanor and quick comebacks are tailor-made for Eastwood, establishing the characters brilliantly. Mario Van Peebles delivers a fantastic supporting character that easy to root for and against. The training scenes and fights are a lot of fun. While the war scenes may feel at times unrealistic and excessive, they add a fun dynamic to the storyline, leading to a worthwhile conclusion.

In conclusion, Heartbreak Ridge offers a compelling blend of character development, coming-of-age elements, and brilliant comedy. I'd give it a 7/10 and recommend watching it at least once.

I had forgotten how funny this film really is. Shown on British TV last night, I found myself laughing like a loon all the way through it. Being a big fan of Eastwood, it's been quite a while since re-viewing this mini classic. And although it does take a drastic turn at the end, with a slightly misjudged comment on war, this is by far his funniest movie.

I also found that his character is his most interesting. A hard, no-nonsense gunnery sergeant who looks for advice in women's magazine is a dream characterization. And the one-liners are perfectly attacked.

I did find Mario Van Peebles character a little annoying, but then I suppose that was the whole point, and it's always good to see Marsha Mason, who I think is totally underrated as a screen actress.

But this is Eastwood's movie, through and through and a real delight. See it, but don't take the ending too seriously.

Among my husband and his buddies, this movie is like Shakespeare -- they quote from it often and well, so often and well, in fact, that the quotes are just part of their vocabulary and the source is forgotten. It does have more than its share of witty quips, even for me, a lowly female ;).

I really do like this movie. It makes me miss the 80's, when it was still considered acceptable to be a patriotic American, and movies that glorified America and the military could be made without the felt need to apologize left and right. And of course Clint Eastwood is clever and attractive as always, as the hardcore Marine lifer who's trying to discover his tender side in time to reunite with his ex when he retires.

I effing LOVE this movie. It's probably my greatest (movie) guilty pleasure.

In 1986, I was 10. I was way too interested in war/military based films/TV/books. (Fun-fact: never enrolled, and don't own any guns. I think i was drawn to the uniforms, haha)

I still remember the night I convinced my parents to rent this, at the video store. Believe it or not, this was the first "Clint" movie I ever watched, lol. I figured it would be like the Chuck Norris/Rambo movies, I had watched. Boy, was I wrong.

Even as a ten year old, I had a fondness for the script and the characters. And now, at 44, I'm still enjoying a rewatch, at least 1-3 times per year, haha

Of course, objectively, this is a unimpressive throwaway 80's flick. It's possibly the only movie to use the 'invasion' of Grenada, as a backdrop-or, it certainly was, at the time. It's overtly jingoistic; on par with the 'Red Dawn's', and 'Top Gun's' of the era. It's more of a comedy, compared to a military action movie.

And certainly, in 2020, the 80's humour comes across as dated-that said, I think it's disingenuous to get offended over how things used to be. Just like I think those still using casual homophobic humour today, are being lazy

Despite all this, Eastwood's passive-aggressive ornery character, has some of my favourite quotable lines. So too, does the Ayatollah of Rock'n'Rolla, 'Slick Jones'-played by the amazing Mario Van Peebles.

His Ying to Eastwood's Yang, never gets old. Nor does the rest of the ensemble cast. Everyone from Eastwood's former flame, to his ultra aggressive superior, is wonderfully cast.

Hard to imagine someone coming across this movie, in today's era-but this is a truly a hidden gem.

I have to say that I really enjoyed watching this movie.

The grizzled, maverick war veteran, Sgt. Tom 'Gunny' Highway must be one of Clint Eastwood's more comedic roles (apart from the 'every which way' films) He had me bursting out laughing every time he even opened his mouth. One particular line that had me in stitches was when he was telling a cadet to put his Kevlar helmet back on by 1900 hours 'or he wouldn't have a head to wear it on'-pure class!! I've always liked Clint for his tough no-nonsense roles. This one is no exception! As a matter of fact, there were plenty of 'laugh-out-loud moments in this film to keep everyone happy-like the smart-ass remarks from the punk cadets.

The showdown between Highway and 'The Swede' was highly enjoyable, too.

'Heartbrake Ridge' is certainly a lot more lighter and easier to swallow than the similarly-themed 'Full Metal Jacket'.

This film certainly passes as perfectly adequate, undemanding popcorn viewing.