I was serving in the Marine Corps when this first came out. Many of us used to kick back and jeer at the discrepancies in it. Such as, The bulk of the story takes place at Camp Lejuene N.C. and it was filmed at Camp Pendleton Ca. The terrain at the two bases is radically different. Eastwood's platoon of recon marines is portrayed as a ragtag crew of slackers, Marine force reconaissance is an elite ,all volunteer force in league with Army rangers and Navy SEALS. It's doubtful that such an unruly recon platoon has ever existed. On the training exercise when Gunny Highways no nonsense CO challenges him to hand to a hand to fight at the pit, it's another one. Any commissioned officer that would pull a stunt like that, especially in front of the troops, would be in front of his own superiors desk in a snap. Of course, the same could be said of a Staff NCO (senior noncom) who man handles his men as Eastwood's Tom Highway does. For the most part, the film clearly had good technical advisement. All the actors when in uniform display near perfect regulations and details such as length of belts,placement of badges and decorations, haircuts etc. The actor playing SgtMaj Choozo has the showman-like speech and manner of a Marine Corps senior enlisted man down pat. All in all, its straight forward story and rousing action make for an enjoyable film for everyone.

I have been going through the Clint Eastwood catalog over and over again (and I have seen everything he's directed!), and I rewatched this recently. I didn't care for it the first time I saw it, and my first opinion still stands. It's not a terrible movie (it is a Clint Eastwood film), but it's very conventional, predictable, and a bit tired too. It's still head and shoulders above most filmmakers' best work, as Eastwood is an artist and great craftsman so even his lesser work is still worth watching. The film is about Eastwood, a regular army Sergeant, having to train a very slack platoon of Marines and prepare them for battle. The film ends in Grenada, where Eastwood and his platoon save American students from guerillas. Many have thought that Eastwood was endorsing the Grenada invasion, but it isn't really like that. Clint just used that as a catalyst for the bigger picture, so to speak. There's no political agenda here.

Clint gives an excellent performance here. His character may be a cliche, but it's great to see Clint give new life to that cliche. Marsha Mason is fine as his ex-wife, Bo Svenson plays a sleazy bar owner convincingly, and Mario Van Peebles is pretty funny as the undesignated leader of the platoon. The other recruits aren't particularly distinguished, and the actors portraying them are rather stiff. It is also interesting to note that this is another film where a bar room brawl occurs in an Eastwood film (the others are Bronco Billy, The Rookie, and Every Which Way but Loose). Just a side note.

If you're an Eastwood fan, this is an enjoyable movie, but he's done a lot better.

The movie is a surprise. It is not all violence. Instead it is mostly light humor coupled with a underlying love story. Violence is at a minimum. Enjoyed the movie every time I have watched it.

THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT MOVIE AND SINCE THEY DO NOT PLAY IT ON TV ENOUGH, I THOUGHT THAT OWNING IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA. YOU COULDN'T ASK FOR A BETTER PRICE. IT WAS A GREAT DEAL!!

He's been looking for this movie for years, so when he told me he wanted it, I hopped on Amazon and found it immediately. Thanks for the Prompt service and great selection of movies.