
Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him a job - commanding officer of a local school's JROTC program, a bunch or ragtag losers with no hope. Using such teaching tools as live grenades and real bullets, Payne starts to instill the Corps with some hope. But when Payne is reca... (Full plot summary below)
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Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him a job - commanding officer of a local school's JROTC program, a bunch or ragtag losers with no hope. Using such teaching tools as live grenades and real bullets, Payne starts to instill the Corps with some hope. But when Payne is recalled to fight in Bosnia, will he leave the Corps that has just started to believe in him, or will he find out that killin' ain't much of a livin'?
Leave your thoughts about Major Payne.
| Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertPayne is played in the movie by Damon Wayans, in the best work he's done since the inspired "In Living Color" TV series. |
| Washington PostRita KempleyThe hero's hilarious efforts to become an ROTC commander at a Virginia prep school are more than enough ammunition for this riotous military parody. |
| Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasWhile Major Payne is too predictable for most adults, it's an ideal entertainment for youthful audiences that allows Damon Wayans to be at his best in a dream part. |
| The New York TimesCaryn JamesMajor Payne takes about an hour and 10 minutes before it wallows in sappiness. That's not a bad record for a formula family comedy in which the ending is clear from the start. |
| TheWorldJournal.comFrank OchiengA relentlessly misguided military mishap starring Wayans as a uniformed motormouth with an edgy attitude. Maybe Wayans schtick is a major pain to endure after all? |
| Common Sense MediaBarbara ShulgasserSilly slapstick movie has some violence, salty language. |
| VarietyLeonard KladyIt’s relatively foolproof light entertainment, undone only when it strays too far into the absurd or wears the mantle of Wayans’ comedy persona. |
| San Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoThe title is exactly the sort of juvenile joke the entire movie leans on. |
| Boston GlobeJay CarrWhat there is here is Damon Wayans ripping up the screen -- which is entertaining but doesn't go far enough -- but this film really isn't about anything else. My 4 1/2 year old cracked up at the butt jokes but doesn't know what “turd” means so he missed much of the verbal humor. |
| Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThis fumbling and formulaic semiremake of The Private War of Major Benson (1955) is basically just an excuse to let comic Damon Wayans—functioning here as cowriter and executive producer as well as star—strut his stuff. But he's strutting in a void, and not even two gold teeth will light his way. The initial premise [is] good for a couple of laughs at most. |