Or maybe it's just an enjoyable military movie. Either one of those will do. In any case, Gunny Sgt. Highway (Eastwood) returns to his "home" base after some time at other military installations, where he was a constant troublemaker. He is assigned to the usual platoon of "ragtag misfits", and whips them into a crackerjack fighting squad. Meanwhile, he tries to rekindle a relationship with his ex-wife (Marsha Mason), who still bears deep emotional scars from their disastrous marriage.
The film's climax is the invasion of Grenada: the single least impressive military victory in the history of the USA. Still, it brings an amount of closure to Gunny Highway's long military career (which included tours of duty in the unsuccessful wars in Korea and Vietnam). He reaches an understanding with his ex-wife, and is able to stop being a soldier.
Eastwood's performance is a tour-de-force. Not only does he get to display both machismo and sensitivity, but he also gets some sensational dialogue, none of which I can quote here because of its, uh, adult nature. Being able to swear eloquently is not a lost art form as long as Eastwood is around. He delivers those age-old insults as though they were poetry. He's the only person who could ever say "It's my will against yours and you will lose" without sounding stupid.
The cast is generally good, with a star-making performance from Mario Van Peebles as the most troublesome of Eastwood's platoon. Eastwood and Peebles bring more laughs into this drama than can be found in many comedies. Peebles, of course, did not develop into a major star, but has become a director of some note. Still, nothing he has done elsewhere quite measures up to the flamboyance of Stitch Jones.
Had Chuck Norris starred in this film (as one can easily imagine), it would have been a one-note piece of crud. Eastwood transcends a pedestrian plot to make a film that works both as light entertainment and genuine human drama.
Copyright 1997 by Dale G. Abersold
