Semper Fi

While this seemed like an accurate movie of the Marine boot camp, I am guessing that my Marine friends would not agree. It was still kind of fun to watch.

Unfortunately, the writer used several hackneyed plot devices that really distracted from any story. For example, do we really need a love interest sub-plot? Please! I'm sure that people join the Marines to escape all kinds of personal situations. Why not focus on some original ones?

Better than watching 'Who wants to be a millionaire', but I would not go out of my way to see this movie.

An unbelievable movie... the most true-to-life movie in terms of what life is like in the Marine Corps. A movie that anyone considering becoming a Marine should see... and one that all Marines should watch. In one word, the movie is... remarkable.

My husband, who is a Marine, said this show was true to form. I would like to see the complete series. I have talked with a few of my neighbors and they all agree that it was was a very good movie and they would also like to see a series.

This TV pilot showed various males and one female character going through the rigors of Marine Corps recruit training. I can understand why no network wanted this trash for a weekly series. As a former Marine, I was very disappointed in the way the recruits were portrayed. It was very unbelievable in many aspects, including the order in which some of the training took place (In real training, recruits qualify on the rifle range before going to the gas chamber and rappel towers, unlike how it was showed in this movie). Considering the power behind this production, it was shocking to see these glaring errors. I mean, come on, only one recruit knew his general orders?! All of their recruiters should be fired! Nearly 90 percent of the recruits I went down to recruit training with knew all 11 general orders before they arrived at Parris Island for training -- including me. Steven Spielberg executive produced this debacle, and former Marine Capt. Dale Dye's involvement makes it even more amazing how poorly this was put together. Both Spielberg and Dale were together on the masterful Saving Private Ryan, yet there was no saving these privates-to-be. Despite my reservations about its accuracy, I rated Semper Fi a five out of 10 stars simply because it was fun to reminisce about being at Parris Island again and seeing the drill instructors, the squad bays, and other memories of my three months at PI. OOHRAH! To get a more realistic portrayal of boot camp at PI, check out Full Metal Jacket. It takes place in the 1960s, but it's much more accurate than this hokey mess.

I have seen just about every Marine Corps movie there is, and none of them come close to the technical accuracy of this film. Every detail from the diddies to the customs and courtesies are included. Each day in the film is just as it is in training. Watching the movie was like watching a cameraman following another company around on the depot. The Drill Instructors are a hundred times nicer in the film, but the structure of training is exact. I would recommend it to anyone thinking of joining. I really don't know how anyone could consider joining any service other than the Marine Corps. No one upholds the pride and Esprit de Corps that you see in all Marines. It helps explain why Marines are the best. And enforces the age-old fact that there is no fighting force greater than a US Marine. From an admin clerk to a heavy machine-gunner, we all went through the same initial training together. And that's exactly what you see in this film. I wish they had enough money to make ten movies about different training cycles in the forces like this one.

Semper Fidelis, Cpl Michlitsch United States Marine Corps "The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war"