Eastwood on top form

Rating: 6/10 (16 March 2018)

HEARTBREAK RIDGE is another hugely enjoyable film from Clint Eastwood, here acting in the dual role of director and lead actor. He plays a tough, grizzled war veteran tasked with getting a rag-tag group of youthful Marines into shape, which he does so via his ultra-tough methods. It's a film very much like Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET, which came out a year later, but I think it has the edge in terms of enjoyability. Eastwood's naturally hard-ass character feels like a direct follow-on from his Dirty Harry and a precursor to his turn in GRAN TORINO. The script is crude but also witty and the lines are barked in just the right way. The rest of the cast are decent too, from bad guy Everett McGill to the cocky Mario Van Peebles, and despite a lengthy running time the pacing doesn't flag for an instant. This may be a predictable film but it's also one that screams fun and entertainment.