Only for the real Clint Eastwood-fans

Rating: 6/10 (21 March 2005)

It seems to me that, since Clint Eastwood has won several Oscars with "Million Dollar Baby", some people believe he's one of the greatest directors ever. I admit that his latest work is really very good, not to say excellent, but movies like this one show that he had to go a long way before getting there.
"Heartbreak Ridge" is situated in 1983, when Gunnery Sergeant Tom 'Gunny' Highway (Clint Eastwood) rejoins his old recon unit in the Marines. He's a battle hardened and decorated veteran from the Korean and Vietnam war who will have to train his new unit. But that unit isn't exactly what you expect from a platoon of Marines. They are all lazy and more interested in style, music, drinking and in chasing women, than in training for combat missions, let alone in fighting the enemy. But Highway isn't just the average drill sergeant either and he'll teach them what it is to be a real marine, something that will be very useful when they have to go to Grenada, where they will have to rescue the American citizens and fight the Cubans. In the meantime he also tries to reconnect with his ex-wife, who still sees him as a gun-ho, who has always been more interested in the army than in her...
What you'll see is the typical Clint Eastwood like we know from the Dirty Harry-movies. He's a grumpy macho who doesn't speak much, except with his fists. I'm sure that many people will love that, but I don't like him all that much in this kind of roles. In fact, I didn't like this entire movie... It felt a bit too much like an advertisement campaign from the Marine Corps and not all that much like a movie. If you don't know what I mean: You have the average nonsense of going to battle and beating the hell out of the enemy without getting hurt all too much yourself, the "even one man of us can beat the entire army of the enemy'-feeling, the "Stars and Stripes" waving in the wind and some marching music on the soundtrack to emphasize it all even a bit more. I know that many men prefer this kind of "war movies", but I certainly don't.
Nevertheless, I have to admit that not everything about this movie is bad. I sometimes had a good laugh with it too, especially when he tried to make up with his wife and therefor started reading women's magazines. But overall this movie couldn't convince me all that much and that's why I give it only a 5.5/10. This is only for the real Clint Eastwood-fans.