Two and a half hours of gritty war action

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2016)

Sergio Leone's unfairly maligned fifth western is at least equal to his earlier films, if not scaling the epic heights of his masterpieces. We're in familiar territory with the story of two men, the opposites of each other, who team up as unlikely partners and end up getting involved in something far beyond their reaches. Unlike his earlier Eastwood westerns, Leone's film is far more reaching and personal than before, and with a darker edge. It's also his most political film, as it charts the struggle between the army and the revolutionaries. Once again it's perfectly made, with a great evocative Morricone soundtrack, and uses extreme close-ups and the like for style. Don't go expecting any stand-offs, however, as this is more of a war film, and has great scenes like Steiger and Coburn taking on the brunt of the German army alone in the mountains.
Rod Steiger takes the lead role of the Mexican bandit, playing much the same part as Eli Wallach would have done. He really seems to be putting his all into the role and having a good time, and his spirit rubs off. All this and he has an accent similar to the one Pacino uses in SCARFACE. James Coburn is his complete opposite, an Irish (!) IRA member who is an expert in all things explosive. The two make a real fiery partnership and a supported by a strong Italian cast, once again. Cult favourite David Warbeck pops up in a small but key role in flashbacks as a friend of Coburn's.
The action scenes are violent without being excessive (like in a Peckinpah film), taking things one step further from Leone's previous work. Times have changed so the film has a harder, rougher edge, almost nihilistic in feel. There are some impressive explosions to note as well, and exploitation fans will be surprised to see Antonio Margheriti (one of my favourite Italian directors) listed in the crew as the special effects man. A miniature train crash is unmistakably his work. While being a technically-proficient piece of work, A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE also has important questions to ask the audience which elevates it above similar B-movie fare, and flies by at a mere two-and-a-half hour running time.