Adequate, But Could Have Been So Much More

Rating: Null/10 (9 January 2001)

Clint Eastwood's direction loses its way in this film about an old-washed up Marine drill sergeant (Eastwood) who trains a group of misfits so they can fight in Grenada. The film starts out as a sort of smart comedy, but then deals with the horrors of warfare and the realization that there will almost always be casualties of war. Mario Van Peebles is superb as the head misfit, but his character becomes less imperative as the film progresses. Marsha Mason is totally out-of-place as Eastwood's ex-wife. Average overall, but could have been one of the best and most important films of the 1980s. 2.5 out of 5 stars.