Semper Fi

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.

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.

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"

Being in the Marine Corps I happened to catch this movie on the Armed Forces Network. Since I had been through boot camp I wanted to see how accurate the movie was and compare it to Full Metal Jacket, the greatest Marine movie ever. As I watched memories of boot camp returned and I found myself identifying more and more with the characters. The actors portray the recruits and drill instructors so well that until the end credits rolled I believed I was watching an actual platoon and actual drill instructors. If you are interested in how civilians become Marines and want to see an accurate portrayal of boot camp this movie is for you. I would recommend it to any military buff or any Marine fresh out of boot camp or retired for twenty years, it will bring back memories both good and bad, and remind you of why you chose to become one of the few, and one of the proud. Semper Fi.

Nice promotional movie for the marine corps. However, it lacks depth. The characters are too superficial. I don't really get the point of this flick, it comes across as a promo for the army. It would've been nice to know more about the background of the characters, especially the women-recruits. I was kinda disappointed about that. Some parts were downright embarrassing. Everyone made it through the training, except the runaway. That's not realistic. No actor exceeded their (hopelessly)stereotypical character. The ending was a cheap shot and way WAY cliché. For would-be or wannabe soldiers it might be a nice movie, though. Personally, I'd go for Full Metal Jacket or Biloxi Blues.