We, the Marines

I served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1973. Yes, this documentary leaves out a lot, but hey, Top Gun was basically a recruiting movie for the Navy too folks. We did pushups on our knuckles on the grinder. We were choked and punched. We were screamed at, "motivated", showed how to save lives, and taught to be Marines. Did I like it? No, duh! I was also in the Navy for 4yrs and the National Guard for 2yrs. Now, at age 67, I can honestly say that I benefited greatly from my time in the Corps, and the leadership skills, the ability to encourage others, to think fast when the going gets a little rough, all have been of great use since I got out in 1973. I was, and will always be, a U.S. Marine.

A blatant, biased praise of the Marine Corps, a glorious 37min advertisement to one of the most effective fighting forces on earth (the rangers probably would have a word or two), with the cheesiest cliché song covers as an accompanying music to mortars and engines. Gene Hackman as the narrator does not help to get rid of the awkward cringe that the constant blind praise to the marines is causing sadly.

Wonder why did they leave out the post-service life and PTSD. Somehow the advertisement ends with flowers, crying people and a choir. Should've included some facts of the other side too. But hey, it's 'murica, who needs those, right?

First, read the headline: this is a recruiting tool, for sure. This piece really seems like something the recruiters would play for the local High School auditorium full of kids and leave 20 minutes for questions. Or something they would show parents to give them an idea what their son or daughter might be going through in their next four years of their Marine Corps career.

As a documentary piece, this is a very fine program. The shots are fantastic, with a mix of traditional documentary style shots and drone footage. Kudos to the cinematographers and editors because they seem to have carried the majority of the weight in this program. It also makes me wonder if they used the Marine Corps combat camera units in their video team. I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Gene Hackman is enthusiastic and seems very connected to the script. He delivers a very strong narration, and is heard laughing at times, as if he's remembering his own journey through Marine Corps recruit training.

A few things bugged me:

Very, VERY obvious ADR (dialogue replacement), as noted in another review.

Subtitle issues. A "Nine Line" is a call for fire / evacuation - I don't know what an "eye line" is. Also, anyone that has ever been in the Corps knows it is sacrilegious to call even a recruit a "soldier" (one of the obvious ADR mistakes - they must have taken the clip from an Army boot camp program).

There are also random voice overs from... people. Are they Marines? Are they defense contractors? Why wouldn't you identify them as to build context? These clips are used very sporadically throughout the film, and seemed to be filling in gaps where Hackman's narration left off.

Overall, this is a nice recruiting tool with a visual style that will really attract a younger audience. Old time Marines like myself can watch for some nostalgia. Anyone who is into historical documentaries will be disappointed.

I'm a former Marine and film maker. This was cheaply done and it makes sense that people would say this is a recruitment doc. The shots were great. The "recruits" were not conveying the pain and struggles of boot camp. It seemed like they were actors. what pissed me off the most was that they were using sound files in the background that did not match the clip , and in one of those sound files I looked up the close caption and the drill instructor said "what are you doing soldier?" if you were in the Marines you know damn well we don't call each other soldier, which I assumed meant they used a sound file from a totally different project. Army; soldier , marines; Marines . Among other things Gene Hackman was talking about certain types of training in Boot Camp, while showing a video clip of the silent drill team training. We do not train for the silent drill team in Boot Camp. I turned it off not even halfway through

Propaganda-level promotion of the Marine Corps that is both exhilarating and without any conflict. Phenomenal visuals.

Screenplay...................................... 5 / 10 Visuals................................................ 10 Sound................................................... 7 Editing................................................ 6 Music....................................................... 5 Timeless Utility................................. 5 Total.................................................... 38 / 60 ~= 6.3 (rounded to 6) Verdict................................................. Enjoyable, especially for vets and military enthusiasts.