Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

US Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway (Clint Eastwood) had been in the Corps since the 1950s and was nearing mandatory retirement.  Reassigned to Recon Marines, he found an undisciplined collection of dissolute Marines; Gunny Highway set to work forging them into an elite fighting force.  However, he had to contend with Major Powers (Everett McGill), a professional paper-pusher who disliked Highway's checkered past.  Then there was the issue of Tom's ex-wife, Aggie (Marsha Mason), who was dating a man who hated Marines.  Tom was reading women's magazines for relationship advice with a notion of getting back together.  At length, the invasion of Grenada in October 1983 tested his Marines and provided Highway with a final taste of combat before his retirement.

There are points when the movie shines and others when it drags.  There are some great bits.  One memorable one was that t-shirt matching during PT.  That the goal post seemed to move each time was fun.  Improvise, adapt, overcome.  Heck, I remember hearing that from friends in the Marines.  The battle in Grenada was surprisingly bland and included goofball A-Team silliness, such as driving a bulldozer (wow, handy that it is on the side of the road and available to the Marines) at an enemy machinegun position where the bullets ping against the raised blade.  Yeah.  But it wasn't raised high enough to cover the driver.  Lucky the Cubans didn't aim a little higher.  Well, this isn't a war movie, it's a dramedy?

Though the movie is set in 1983, the title refers to a battle fought during the Korean War (1950-53) by the US Army, not the Marines.  It is revealed that Highway won the Congressional Medal of Honor during the battle and that he had been in the Army at the time.  A thumbnail sketch of the battle is offered by Sergeant Major Choozoo (Arlen Dean Snyder), who was also a veteran of the battle.  Well, that's good to know.  Are there flashbacks?  No.  This is just to establish Highway's bona fides.

Just okay.

Tripoli (1950)

During the Tripolitan War, Marine Lt. Presley O'Bannon (John Payne) of the USS Essex volunteered for a mission against the city of Derna.  Together with General William Eaton (Herbert Heyes), O'Bannon, Navy Lt. Tripp, and 8 Marines traveled to Minya on the Nile.  There, they met the exiled Pasha Hamet Karamanly (Phillip Reed), the rightful ruler of Tripoli who was usurped by his brother.  Eaton arranged a treaty with Hamet that would put him back on the throne.  Hamet signed.  With agreement in hand, Eaton and O'Bannon planned a rendezvous on the coast near Derna.  Eaton left to join the fleet while O'Bannon marched across the desert with his handful of Marines, Hamet's Arab soldiers, and Captain Demetrious' Greek Mercenaries.  Can O'Bannon get this ragtag army to the shores of Tripoli despite sandstorms, ruined waterholes, mutiny, intrigue, and Countess Sheila D'Arneau (Maureen O'Hara)?

Payne is quite good as a wisecracking, supremely confident O'Bannon.  His clashes with the countess cannot help but lead to a growing attachment between the two.  Of course, the countess's goal was to marry Hamet, who was immensely wealthy despite his exile.  However, this handsome and manly Marine is hard to resist.  As the director, Will Price, was married to Maureen O'Hara during filming, the love scenes between Payne and O'Hara must have been particularly awkward.  Howard Da Silva is a scene-stealer as Captain Demetrious.  His good-natured demeanor and witty commentary are great fun.  Though he is supposed to be Greek, he felt like the most pro-American character in the film.

The movie is generally correct about the history, but changes have been made.  In fact, William Eaton was in charge of the march.  Though played by 60-year-old Hayes, Eaton was only 40 at the time.  Why not have Eaton as the main character and O'Bannon take over for the fictional Lt. Tripp?  Tripp is a stand-in for Eaton, who was a Navy Lieutenant at the time.  Eaton had an impressive career starting in the US Army before becoming a consul, then General and Commander in Chief of the Derna Campaign.  He was more accomplished than O'Bannon, whose only claim to fame is Derna.  However, it was O'Bannon who charged into the fray at Derna and raised the American flag on foreign soil during wartime for the first time in the nation's history.  The movie proposes that Hamet plotted to betray the Americans when it was the other way around.  The US negotiated a treaty with Hamet's brother and no longer needed him.  Eaton was quite upset at that turn of events.  US forces withdrew from Derna and left the city to the mercy of the Tripolitans.

Good popcorn fun.  Recommended.

250 Years Old

The Marine Corps was founded on this day in 1775, less than a month after the Continental Navy.  Yes, the Marine Corps predates the United States.  It was the Continental Marines in those early days.  Two months after their founding, the Marines made their first amphibious landing in the Bahamas.  Since then, the Marines have often been the first in the fight for America's war and military actions.

Happy Birthday and Semper Fi, Marines!

Taking Chance (2009)

It is April 2004 when the story opens with an ambush in Iraq.  It is only the audio over a black screen.  Back in the US, Marine Lt. Col. Mike Strobl (Kevin Bacon) is a number cruncher at Quantico.  His job is to review troop allocations and make recommendations.  Casualties are high in Iraq, but Lt. Col. returns to his wife and kids every night.  He's safe while other Marines were giving their lives.  While reviewing casualty reports, he notes that one Marine was from Colorado, near the town where he himself had grown up.  The Marine was PFC Chance Phelps.  Strobl volunteered to escort Chance home.

The process of returning the deceased to their relatives is very particular.  Honor is due the deceased at every stop on the journey home.  Strobl stood at attention and saluted as Chance was loaded into the plane and when he was removed from the plane.  He had to retain Chance's personal effects (a watch, a medallion, dog tags) on his person at all times, not even allowing them to pass through the X-ray at the airport.  He was moved that others joined in his respect for Chance along the way, offering thanks to him as an escort and condolences to Chance's family.  Strangely, the hero of the film is Chance and Strobl comes to know him by taking Chance home.

The movie is a powerful tearjerker, a somber reflection on the sacrifices made by a young man still in his teens.  Kevin Bacon is outstanding in the role, showing deep feelings despite maintaining a mostly stoic expression.

Highly recommended.