One half of a great movie.

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2002)

Do yourself a favor, after they leave boot camp turn the movie off. The actual battle scenes cover territory that is much more effectively covered elsewhere (e.g., "All Quiet on the Western Front"). The first half of the movie, however, ranks up there with the best of them. The drill sergeant in this movie puts Louis Gossett, Jr.'s character in "An Officer and a Gentleman" to shame.