Dane B. M
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.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
11/23/24
Full Review
Eye C
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.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/12/24
Full Review
Deborah S
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.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/12/23
Full Review
Shellie G
I liked this movie and it kept me engaged. I have watched several times.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/05/23
Full Review
Ola G
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".
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
08/28/23
Full Review
Stephen D
Pros:
Clint Eastwood
Cons:
Terrible movie
Too slapsticky
Not at all realistic
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
08/01/23
Full Review
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