An Enjoyable Lightly Ant-war dramedy

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2009)

I have read a number of these comments with interest because I served in the military from the late 60's to early 70's and saw Kelly's Heroes in theatrical release and numerous times on TV since then. I found this film to be funny, sad, thought provoking, and enjoyable, mostly because of the cast and how their characters were written and how they were allowed to develop.
Basically, the plot is about a squad of exhausted US Army enlisted men during World War 2, sent back to the rear for some rest and relaxation, but ordered to stay in camp, who are then given the chance by an enterprising PFC (Clint Eastwood as PFC Kelly) to score a major heist, behind enemy lines and unknown to the Allied command - if they can get everything coordinated. The movie tells the tale of if and how the plan was carried out and what unexpected obstacles were presented during the operation and how they dealt with them.
I'm not going to go into the humor provided by several of the actors (Don Rickles, Donald Sutherland, etc). but a couple of things seem to have been missed by others in the basic premise of the plot. Kelly had been a lieutenant but his commission was pulled and he was demoted (busted) for leading a totally successful attack against an objective given to him by his commanding officers. The problem was that the objective was another Allied position which had been misidentified. The character still has the smarts and leadership skills of an officer but is now just a PFC. So he is a victim of a screwed up military. And you can see the tension between his character and that of his ostensible sergeant, Big Joe (Telly Savalas).
One note about Sutherland's character Oddball, I'll grant that it is highly unlikely that a character like him existed during WW2, spouting mid to late 60's hippie platitudes. Yet I will also say that during my time in the military, I came across a number of characters that appear as updated versions of the roles played by the other actors. Colonels who were full of it (you wouldn't believe some of the things I saw), lieutenants who ranged from Academy graduate 'strack' troops to the 90 day wonder let's get by as easily as possible kind. Sergeants who ranged from mad dogs to pushovers, and any number of conniving enlisted men. And I've also seen the committed, caring, let's get it done and move on types.
I can also easily understand how the lower ranking types on the other side, can with a little help, see how they have more in common with their enemy counterparts then with their senior officers, because I witnessed it.
And yes, I've also seen humor through even the most trying of situations. I can see the men in Big Joe's squad understanding exactly what he means when he talks about so much luck, and I can see the men also understanding Kelly's well thought out plans Â– if their luck runs out, it runs out, but at least for a few moments they can control a tiny bit of their own destiny, because they can see all too well the results of the orders that resulted in Kelly's original platoon completely wiping out everyone there. The important thing is they (and we) can see both the strengths and weaknesses of both characters.
The movie was one of the more enjoyable war/caper/antiwar films I've seen and except for how loud the music was at times, I would highly recommend it.