Semper Fi: One Marine's Journey (2007)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

best movie i've ever seen.

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Considering that the rate of STDs, including HIV-AIDS, is astronomical in gay males of normal military age (18-40) -- compared to straight males -- and that the solder or Marine next to you is your blood bank for direct transfer (still used in combat, such as in the Blackhawk Down incident) .... I'm just staggered that no one bothers to even mention this when discussing the issue of gays in the military.The actual rate of HIV infection is roughly 30 times higher among gay males compared to everyone else, and similar rates for all STD's, including syphilis.Doesn't it sink in that there is a REASON that each soldier's blood type is stamped on his dog tags? No, thanks. Combat wounds usually heal, for the most part. What our veterans do NOT need is a bout of AIDS added, for them -- and their family -- to enjoy for the rest of their lives.Basically, this film was just the usual left-wing, feel-good propaganda for people that have no real understanding of the whole issue.I am not impressed. Neither was I surprised when our joke of a national government jammed gays down the Defense Department's throat -- not a bad analogy, actually. Wait until you see what the AIDS budget for the Veterans Administration will expand to in the next five or ten years ....

This film was so incredible that I felt I needed to sign up to the IMDb web site so that I would be able to make a comment here.Being a bisexual male, I would love to thank Jeff Key for this film's portrayal of his service as a gay marine. Being an American, I would love to thank Jeff Key for this film's portrayal of the war from a marine's point of view. To have both these features in one film was like combining two incredibly poignant documentaries into one. The fact that it is just one man's story constantly brings back the reality of the film.I wish that every American would watch this film, for one, because it is a glimpse of the reality of the U.S. occupation in Iraq, and two, because it exposes the incredible challenges gay people face at war as well as at home. I feel like this film will open some eyes. I personally can't wait to show my own father.Well done Jeff! Thank you for your courage to serve and for your courage to make this film. You are an incredible person and you have changed lives.

I have often cringed at the site of war movies, war documentaries. Maybe I cringed because it was real, and I live in a place so far removed. Maybe I cringed because I knew it was not a true portrayal compared to what I had heard from those who had been there. This film made me want to stand up and scream "THANK YOU!", for allowing me into your life Jeff, and for helping us all understand. It is moving, comical, realistic, heartbreaking, heartwarming, but most importantly it's honest. Jeff Key not only sets, in my opinion, a tremendous example for the Marine Corps and for all those who serve...but he sets an example for all human beings. The film covers all the bases, and cuts in and out of his own one man show based on his experience, his own pictures and film from his time in Iraq, and straight talking to the camera. It all meshes together for a poignant glimpse of one Marine's journey. This film could teach all of us, especially here in America, a little something about truth, loyalty, and the life of those in service.

As a retired Marine, I watched this film with a jaundiced eye, expecting some kind of whiny apologetic for gays being allowed to serve in the military. I figured it would be a kind of "Michael Moore-ish" blasting of the Marines. But what I saw was a real guy with a desire to serve his country who had the opportunity to serve in a war zone and try his part to do what America was told we were sent to Iraq to do: to bring democracy and freedom to the people there even though he had doubts about the war as a reaction to the 9/11 attack. I listened and watched Jeff Key deal with Iraqis, his fellow Marines and his sexuality in a mature, intelligent way. In the end, he felt compelled to admit his homosexuality and leave the Corps, but nothing I saw in the movie made he think he had done anything but serve his country and the Corps with honor. With interviews of family, friends from his gay life and from the Marines, films of his service in Iraq, and scenes from Key's one man show about his service, this movie ends up presenting, in a non-argumentative way, a persuasive argument for allowing gays to serve openly in the service.