Il maggiore Payne

This was a truly fun movie. Being x-military myself I thought this was a great movie. I laughed all the way through from start to finish. The shooting of the bogyman through the closet door was priceless. The story of the "Little Engine That Could" was great. I hope that a sequel will be made where they have the blind guy and his Seeing Eye dog. That will be funny stuff.

You can pick up two things from reading other IMDb users' comments about this movie: 1) It's not for everyone so chances are you'll either love it or hate it, and 2) The frequency with which someone adds a comment is slowly increasing over time. Both these things lead me to imagine that Major Payne has all the makings of a great cult comedy in the truest meaning of that term.

If I were to offer anyone advice it would be to watch the first ten minutes of the film next time it's on TV. If the style of humour seems amusing to you, settle in for the ride and you'll probably be laughing out loud a LOT. If it seems dumb and you don't get it, cut your losses, switch right off and do something more productive with your time, that way you'll be spared an experience you won't enjoy. It's really that simple in this case.

Me? I had thought from the trailers it was going to be dumb but it came on TV and I started watching. Straightaway I was laughing at the narration, Payne's excessively 'war-ey' attitude ("The sweet smell of mustard gas" !!) and his voice, which you will also either love or hate. The Apocalypse Now spoof had me hooked... I suspected it was going to be another one of those parody flicks like Scary Movie or Hot Shots, but was pleasantly surprised at the way it panned out. The story is by-the-numbers cliched stuff, but it is essentially played with a straight face - there are no winks to the camera. Yet it still works, because even though they don't let on that they know, you still know that the film-makers are aware how cheesy it all is, and in fact I think they are gently sending up all those "inspirational" feelgood movies, without being offensive towards them. This is achieved in part through Wayans' stand out performance, and the blend of realistic (Payne's behaviour towards his charges is apparently mirrored in some real drill instructors) with ridiculous (a 6 year old military cadet??!!) Also, the director's use of music is inspired - consistently over the top at the right moment (eg "Respect") to heighten the humour.

Standout moments for me were the 'Little Engine Who Could' scene and Payne's "vision" whilst waiting at the station. Already I would like to get a copy of this movie as there were many many quotable one liners I would like to see again - as I said, it has the makings of a cult classic. I would recommend it unreservedly to someone if I knew they liked this kind of humour; to everyone else... 10 minutes is the cut off point!

I should just add that although I was in the R.A.F cadets at school, and have a brother in the British army (a Major, no less!!!) I have not been through the 'boot camp experience', yet still found the movie to be very funny. Bottom line though, I can see it's not for everyone, so use your discretion.

8/10 for me ? /10 for you

Last night I was looking for a movie to watch and I came across Major Payne, with Damon Waynes as the star. I wasn't too sure if the movie would work, from the looks of the cover, it just looked like an over the top comedy that would have forceful humor. But I have to admit that when I watched it, it actually made me laugh quite a bit. I know that it was a silly movie, but how could you not laugh at these situations? I just loved the whole introduction to the cadets, how pathetic they were and how they had to face Major Payne. This movie is by no means Oscar material, but it's just a fun little comedy that I'm sure will get you a few laughs. The story is Full Metal Jacket, just the more fun and light version.

Major Payne is kicked out of the military after having a few "anger" problems. But he is given a new assignment, to handle a military school with little kids. The kids aren't exactly military material, they're skinny, fat, undisciplined, and over sensitive. It's Major Payne's job to teach these little one's his world of discipline. He drives them crazy, so much so, to the point where they wanna prove themselves and win the trophy against other tougher military schools and prove to Major Payne who's the best troop around.

Major Payne is pretty stupid at times, but it was just a fun comedy. I couldn't help but laugh at the part where they hire Bam Bam to beat up Major Payne, it looks like the kids finally won and yet of course, Major Payne wins again. Not to mention when Major Payne was reading one of the kids a bed time story and how graphic he got with it, I know it was a stupid part, but it was just so funny to me. Major Payne is worth a look, I thought it was a cool comedy that put a different twist on boot camps all around the world.

6/10

I'm not much of a Damon Wayans fan, but this is one of my favorite movies. The cover is misleading since Major Payne doesn't smile much in the movie. I also don't think it is for children due to the profanity and adult situations. Given the right target audience, though, this movie is hilarious. If you have ever been in the real military (sorry AF vets), you should see the humor in a battle-crazed but hardcore military officer using adult military training techniques on children in order to teach them discipline and teamwork. I don't think anyone could have played that role better than Damon Wayans. I believe this movie shows he has true acting talent which doesn't seem to show up much in his other movies.

This is one very funny movie. I can't believe that it wasn't graded any higher. Damon's character is very funny, and there are several scenes that are side splitting. His character's militaristic interaction with the young kids makes for some funny scenes.