Movie Poster

You've seen a general inspecting troops before haven't you? Just walk slow, act dumb and look stupid!

# Review

In this ensemble cast film taking place in World War II, a renegade OSS Major (Lee Marvin) is tasked with assembling a team of criminal condemned military men in order to mount a near suicidal attack against a German-held castle in France.

This film is a prototype for films like The Expendables and The Suicide Squad, where a group of antiheroes are tasked with suicidal missions to redeem themselves. In this case, there are twelve antiheroes ranging from Charles Bronson’s stoic Wladislaw, to Telly Savalas’ psychotic Maggot, to legendary running back Jim Brown’s faithful Jefferson.

As with all ensemble cast movies, it’s tough getting the audience familiar with every character, especially if there are 12 (13 if Marvin’s character is included) heroes to the story. To that effect, the film does a decent job portraying each character’s background and their relationships with one another. The character development is not deep for all characters but some characters do receive a certain degree of screentime to flush out their backgrounds and motivations. The script is a tad dated but much of the humour and charm still remains. The main plot is very simple but exciting. The story is also straightforward and feels like a series of distinct episodes instead of a coherent narrative. Perhaps this movie should have been made as a TV series.

# Conclusion

A fun Hollywood blockbuster with a great cast.

# Overall rating: 7.4

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