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Semper Fi (2001) (TV)

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Nice promotional movie for the marine corps, 19 June 2005

Author: Ferdinand (drlovesrock@hotmail.com) from Utrecht, Holland

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.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertainment for marines and wannabes, 7 September 2004
Author: Sznfctm (Sznfctm@fw.hu) from Budapest, Hungary

I'm just watching this movie, but I don't really like it, especially after I read the other comments. I mean, come on! Who'd be entertained to see the training of US Marines, no matter how accurate it is? As the only plot for a movie, it's sadly weak. You can find anything almost this accurate and heroic, with some action, real actors, even historical background, so why make this? The only reason I can think of is to recruit people to the Corps, especially when I see the moments where the instructors get 'soft'. This is like saying: "Join today, behind the strong, brave, heroic outlook, we are family." So - my advise is: if you want to join, see it first, and get tuned on to the task. If you have no such intentions, you might as well skip it for something less real, with more action - you'll hardly find any entertainment here.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Enlist Now., 13 June 2004
Author: homsan toft

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Seems mostly marines watched and care to comment on this TV pilot, I guess anyone sensible turned off before half of it had passed. I can't comment on its documentary qualities, knowing very little about details of Marine training, so I will only say how it play as a movie. (here be SPOILERS - but spoilers of what, really?)

Well... It plays as a simplistic recruiting film. Starship Troopers without irony or even a plot. A handful of characters from a batch of male recruits and two from a group of female recruits undertake their US Marine basic training. One guy kills himself, all the others persist through the hardships and pass their tests. All shed tears at the final ceremony and as we leave the tough, big, African-American drill instructor walks the empty barracks with a very slight smile lighting his otherwise stony features.

That's the plot outline. For drama we're invited to a series of highlights where the personal problems for some of the characters are displayed. Both recruits and problems are probably cast to match the statistics; half or more are non-Caucasian, mainly worker or immigrant's kids with few opportunities to get by in the land of the free. Did I mention this is a patriotic show to entice kids to join the US army? Well, the various character highlights are probably intended to illustrate how it's a great character-building experience that really puts you ahead in wisdom, strength and stamina. There is however not much logic or consequence to the scenes - they just follow one after another to fill the itinerary of points the army recruiters wanted to make.

Two scenes stand out as particularly bizarre:

(1) Instructor (afro-am as mentioned) sits them down to discuss "race and ethnicity." There have been some slurs from some white boys. He states that the Marines are not about race, asks for comments. One guy gets up and says (referring to himself) "This recruit is Jewish, sir!" End of scene. Yes, end of scene! One gets a feeling there was more, but it was edited out. The "I'm Jewish" bit just *had* to be left in because at the decoration and crying scene near the end, the instructor's personal words of encouragement and pride to the guy are "Mazel Tov", and this was so good they didn't want to cut just there. What do I know. As discussion of race and ethnicity issues in the US go, it's a little thin.

(2) (SPOILERS) We get to view an afro-am recruit quite a lot. His dad once was a Marine, and decorated for bravery in Vietnam. Yes Siree. But now he's in jail. On death row, to boot. For killing a man, no details given. The kid so wants his father to see him in Marine outfit. The father is set to be killed halfway through the film, but this is postponed. In the final scene in the film (after decoration scene) we see the dad strapped in his chair, about to get a lethal injection. Outside a glass wall, the kid, in Marine uniform, his mother, and a friend from boot camp (the spoiled rich kid who found himself and made it even though he just wanted away from his dad). The father smiles slightly, apparently to die a more-or-less happy man. End of film. This might be an outstanding moment in propaganda history (in spite of the plodding acting). So many troublesome features of US society put on direct display, in the hope that they will thereby just vanish. All racialism in police and judiciary, the gruesome record of killing its citizens (and children, and mentally disabled, and innocents), all that just goes away. The kid made it through the Marines' basic training, now he's ready to be decorated in the next Vietnam, and a prisoner can die happy.

My oh my, why didn't I just go to sleep.

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Semper Fi needs to spend a little more time at boot camp, 18 April 2001

Author: Good2Go from Los Angeles

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.

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Accurate, but not intriguing, 16 April 2001

Author: Marshall Patterson from Maryland, USA

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.

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Excellent movie, would make a great series, 2 April 2001

Author: Michelle Kerrick (michellekerrick@yahoo.com) from Tarawa Terrace, North Carolina

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.

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Excellent example of modern USMC training at Parris Island, 2 April 2001

Author: Tarkin from Nashville, TN

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This was the pilot of a series that NBC decided, sadly, to not pick up. The story surrounds two platoons (one male and one female) of young recruits during their training at Parris Island, Marine Corps Recruit Depot. The characters are very real and are performed in a believable manner by the various actors. This movie gives a good overview of Marine Corps training in modern times. I would highly recommend it to people who are considering enlistment or, if like me, you enjoy entertainment with a military theme. The only reason I could see that this show was not picked up as a series, is that it had no where to go. ***SPOILERS*** The film goes all the way through graduation and even ties up some lose ends in respect to the personal story of some of the characters.***END OF SPOILERS*** Other entertainment choices that relate to this TV movie is the Fox series "Boot Camp," the classic film "Full Metal Jacket," and the story is written much like the script for "Gardens of Stone." The first two are Marine related and admittedly are very different in genre (realism vs. Vietnam movie). "Gardens of Stone" tells the story of young soldiers in the U. S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division "The Old Guard" operating as the honor guard for Arlington Cemetery. If you enjoy military films that are well-written and truly pull you into the story, then "Semper Fi" is for you.

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Remarkable., 1 April 2001

Author: SunDevil3 from Minnesota

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.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
This movie brought back a lot of good and bad memories of recruit training, 12 December 2003

Author: MovieBuffMarine from Nova

This is one of the most accurate depictions of USMC Recruit Training ever put out by Hollywood. Other than "Full Metal Jacket" (which put a out an accurate portrayal of Boot Camp from the late sixties) you will not find a more accurate portrayal.

I went to Boot Camp in 1990. This portrayal depicted training during the turn of the Millenium, but it still brought back a lot of good and bad memories. The Crucible which was accurately portrayed in this teleplay was the only thing that I did not experience--the Crucible did not come into recruit training until after October 1996. In my platoon we had someone who tried to kill himself, and we had another who decided he couldn't take it anymore and ran--both depicted real well in this TV movie.

As for the Drill Instructors, I second some of the comments that they were too fake. A DI cannot be faked accurately, no matter how good an actor is, (unless of course they were a DI before like R. Lee Ermey of Full Metal Jacket fame). But I credit them for carrying themselves well (i.e. mannerisms. One of the actors portraying the DI's, Buddy Joe Farnsworth was a former Sergeant of Marines, but obviously was not a DI).

This was scheduled to be a regular series on NBC. It's a shame they canceled this series before it even got off the ground because it would've been stories about enlisted personnel (instead of officers which shows like JAG is about), which is seriously rare both in the movies and TV. The majority of shows and movies which the officers are the main characters are great, but they [Hollywood] needs to do more work about the men and women that officers lead---the enlisted force! Semper Fi could've done that.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Semper Fi Wooo Waaa! Great Movie!, 2 April 2001
Author: Pat1973 (whitetigerpat@webtv.net) from Frankfort Illinois

This movie was so good that I cried! The characters in this movie you care and sweat every tear and determinaton that they are up against. Scott Bairstow as (Cliff Truckee) is a silver spooned mouth feed loner that is spoiled by his father and just keeps goig to be a marine. The real breakout stars are Bianca Kajlich as (Sharron Exler) who I just think is a great actress! Also Vicellous Reon Shanno as (Keith Maddox) is a great character actor who shines in this fresh new marine based story! I felt for every marine in this film! The film is just a treasure of joy and heartache and you will not be disappointed. Its a great start me up program that marines go through everday. Michael W. Watkins directs a great cast and supporting role by Keith David and Terry O'Quinn. Its a keeper and I hope it wins some awards because I just feel in love with this great film! PLEASE put this movie on DVD and Video. I will be the 1st one on the line to buy!Out of 4 stars I give it 4+. A great movie in a whole!

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