Absolute crap. The 'F' word got repeated ad nauseum. Clichés abounded. The smartass, the goody two boots and of course the big moose chest. Clint devours them all. In the storming of the hill he dies. But wait! Miraculously he comes to life and... yep, tells the guy to watch out in the shower room. Hokey and poorly acted. Clint can do and makes far better efforts than this sorry excuse for a movie.

Mr. Eastwood is not an actor's director, so if the actor aren't good so the picture ain't good either. I think this is the closest of a comedy from the director's filmography, but it doesn't delivers.

I don't care what others say, I enjoy any movie with Clint Eastwood in it. I had to watch this two times before I could totally understand the movie. Clint Eastwood is Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway who is getting close to retirement. Marine life is all he has ever known after serving through 2 wars when he is assigned to whip his unruly troops into shape in readiness for the invasion of Grenada.

I liked this movie and it kept me engaged. I have watched several times.

In 1983, Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Thomas "Tom" Highway (Clint Eastwood) finagles a transfer back to his old unit, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Second Marine Division. En route, he meets fellow passenger and aspiring rock musician Corporal "Stitch" Jones, who borrows money from Highway for a meal at a rest stop and then steals his bus ticket, leaving him stranded. When Highway finally arrives, his new commanding officer, Major Malcolm Powers, seeing him as old-fashioned, assigns him to the Reconnaissance Platoon (part of his assault battalion) which by coincidence includes Jones. The platoon's previous sergeant, awaiting his retirement, had permitted their inactivity, but Highway quickly enacts a rigorous training program. Their desperate plan to intimidate him with resident body builder "Swede" Johanson, just released from the brig, fails after Highway easily overpowers Swede in a fight. Their conditioning provides positive results, and they develop esprit de corps and respect for Highway. Highway repeatedly clashes with Powers and his assistant, First Platoon Staff Sergeant Webster. They deplore Highway's unorthodox training methods (such as firing an AK-47 over his men's heads to familiarize them with the weapon's distinctive sound). Seeing Highway's platoon as simply a training tool for a supposedly elite First Platoon, Powers proceeds to arrange for First Platoon to beat Highway's men in every field exercise. However, Highway's old comrade-in-arms, Sergeant Major Choozhoo, and his nominal superior officer, the college-educated and well-meaning but awkward and inexperienced First Lieutenant Ring, support him. After learning of his Medal of Honor award during the Korean War, Highway's men gain further respect for him, becoming unified against their perceived common enemy... Reaction to the film was generally positive. Among reviews, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times, gave the film three stars and noted how the film has "as much energy and color as any action picture this year, and it contains truly amazing dialogue." Ebert also complimented director Eastwood mentioning how he "caresses the material as if he didn't know B movies have gone out of style." Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post agreed saying, "Those with an endless appetite for this sort of tough-man-tender-chicken melodrama will enjoy watching Clint go up against these young punks and outrun, outshoot, outdrink and outpunch them, in the process lending an idea of what it means to be a . . . Marine." Another Washington Post staff writer, Rita Kempley, offered a different view, commenting that it was "always fun to see misguided machismo properly channeled into service of God, country or the National Hockey League. Isn't that the trouble with combat movies these days? From Top Gun to First Blood to Clint Eastwood's entertaining action drama Heartbreak Ridge, the empty-foxhole syndrome makes for non-endings." The staff at Variety added to the encouraging reviews, saying that the film "offers another vintage Clint Eastwood performance. There are enough mumbled half-liners in this contemporary war pic to satisfy those die-hards eager to see just how he portrays the consummate marine veteran." Vincent Canby of The New York Times expressed his satisfaction with the film, writing that "Eastwood's performance is one of the richest he's ever given. It's funny, laid-back, seemingly effortless, the sort that separates actors who are run-of-the-mill from those who have earned the right to be identified as stars." In terms of negative feedback, reviewer Derek Smith of the Apollo Movie Guide wrote that there was "not enough substance to Gunny to make him interesting enough to be the central character of a film, and since the movie offers nothing new or fresh, it just feels dull and uninteresting." Rotten Tomatoes consensus states: "With Heartbreak Ridge, director Clint Eastwood gets one of his best performances out of himself, even if the story struggles to engage." Several writers have described the film as imperialist propaganda glorifying the American invasion of Grenada without explaining any of the history or politics surrounding it; the only information the audience is given about the war is that the Marines are rescuing American hostages and that there are Cubans on the enemy side. In Vietnam Images: War And Representation (1989), James Aulich and Jeffrey Walsh wrote that "Heartbreak Ridge dehistoricises actual political and economic conditions, omits many issues of imperialism or colonisation, and represents the Grenada events as a straightforward triumph of American manhood." (via Wikipedia) Been wanting to re-see this one for a long time, however it was hardly a treat. Most likely one of Clint Eastwoods worst films in my book. As said above, it´s a flagwaving imperialist propaganda glorifying the American invasion of Grenada without explaining any of the history or politics surrounding it. The acting is poor, the script is wishy washy, paperthin stereotypical characters, strange editing and honestly there´s nothing to like with "Heartbreak Ridge".

Pros: Clint Eastwood Cons: Terrible movie Too slapsticky Not at all realistic

It's Not Bad. The acting by Clint is good and he's the best thing in this but overall it's above average. Most of the soldiers in the unit just blend in except Jones. When they are killed I honestly felt nothing and really didn't even know who died because of how much they blended in. Aggie is good also. The music is just ok and boring and not used enough. This should've had more music use especially in the second half battle. It wasn't intense enough. The cinematography wasn't bad either with decent camera work and a memorable setting. But many scenes felt unneeded in the grand scheme of things and oddly enough some more scenes felt needed with personal development of the soldiers of the unit. Or it should've focused more on the battle which isn't bad either but not intense or memorable enough to stand out. The editing and pacing aren't bad either. This does a fairly good job weaving Gunny's personal story, the unit, and the battle together but under-develops the unit's story and the romance feels like it doesn't have enough of a payoff, and the battle as stated should've been better and longer. but it hits it all enough to keep you interested the whole way but the payoff isn't as strong as I was hoping. Overall this is something I'd watch in the background again while doing something. Any Eastwood fan or War movie fan of 80's films will definitely like this enough and its worth checking out if your either of those.

Interesting, if only cuz CLINT reminded us that Reagan's 1983 invasion/liberation of Grenada from the Communists was a real battle and eliminated a real threat. But most of the movie was him as a Marine basic training drill sergeant. Never saw it til on tv 4.14.23 Giving it 3 1/2 stars.

Clint as a flawed Marine, serving under incompetent officers, trying to train knuckleheads, reconnecting with his ex, what more do you want?

Clint Eastwood isn't always great at directing comedies. This film doesn't really work as one, but its thin plot makes it hard to call it a drama. It's hard to review this film, but I'll try. It is entertaining, even if the constantly vulgar dialogue starts to wear off early on. But it still works, and seeing the main character interact with the soldiers is interesting. Although the third act almost completely forgets the comedic nature of the rest of the film, making it an uneven watch, there is still entertainment to be had. If you like Clint Eastwood and/or war movies, this is a decent choice.

This movie has it all; action, comedy, romance, with a strong character arch, a good story, and great acting!

Not my taste but effective.

Lame. That's the best way to describe it. A lame mix of Stripes and Full Metal Jacket but not funny. Every line feels contrived by Larry the Cable Guy. And Clint Eastwood plays a caricature of a person.

In some ways it may seem dated, but one has to remember the history of its setting, so this movie is effectively a period piece in this way, and it is therefore so good! It deals with the issues in its own way of presenting them as they were, and as such there are certain universal themes which were being wrestled to the ground before being set free.

'Heartbreak Ridge' is a rather good war film, one I enjoyed a fair bit. Clint Eastwood, to no-one's surprise, is the best performer from the onscreen talent, though I did like the support cast - namely Mario Van Peebles, Boyd Gaines and Arlen Dean Snyder. The plot is, although obvious in where it is heading, fun and holds one's attention. The score doesn't particularly stand out but there is one part around the middle which is neat. Some of the dialogue is a little cringe, but there are some good lines in there for Mr. Eastwood to quip.

This is the one Clint telegraphed disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski 22 years before Gran Torino. Good because of Clint. Fans will forgive the somewhat cringeworthy Recon platoon he had to get into fighting mode.

Clint Eastwood stars and directs again Sergeant Thomas Highway is a decorated veteran He has served twice in his life and you'd think he might be up for retirement After being court marshaled for drunk and disorderly conduct he's officially dismissed But he's called back to train a new generation of soldiers These officers have no combat experience; he and they are none too thrilled about being paired up together These troops are undisciplined and they believe in a war that will never come That all changes when they are assigned to go to Grenada to save American lives The training is grueling for these men but it's up to Thomas to keep them alive A majority of the movie is very much at the marine base camp so it takes a lot of effort to get to where the movie ends up Eastwood does wonders as usual with his stature, demeanor, and many levels of experience in combat His checkered past comes back from his years on the battlefield to his failed marriage The war scenes are expertly filmed, suspenseful, and exciting finally showing these recruits their skills The last half is truly the best portion in my opinion The story struggles to engage a lot of the time but this is easily one of Eastwood's finest performed roles

A little cliché' but one of Clint's better earlier works. A U.S. Marine lifer gunny sergeant [È7]with the Congressional Medal of Honor from the Korean War whips up a bunch of degenerate Marines into a fighting force. The disgruntled bunch first hate him them grow to respect this Jarhead from the past. Of course he has a dorky ROTC Lieutenant [CO2] as his CO, but he trains him because he respects him as he always takes the blame for the gunny's gung ho tactics. He takes them to Granada to rescue the US citizens being held there during a Communist coupe in the early 1980's. [I had a lifer E8 under me, he reminded me of Clint in this role as he had only 18 months left for mandatory and they threw him in the Quartermasters as a reward and he hated it but I thought the world of his knowledge even thought I was his commanding officer].

If Clint wasn't in this movie, I would have quit as soon as I saw the name Mario Van Pebbles in the opening credits and oh was I so right.

This is awesome. One of the best movies I watched in my life.