Familiar buddy-war epic with explosions and 50's TV humour.

Rating: 2/10 (14 March 2004)

Its easy to pick the three guys about to become big TV stars: the guy playing Moriarty, Big Joe and the german general with the grouchy voice and the crazy hair. Big Joe is okay, but all three give very television performances, and give the general impression that this is television-sitcom grade humour operating here, when there is humour. I'm a Donald Sutherland fan and i didn't think he was that good. Found the stoner character a hamfisted, obvious ploy for comic relief. As a whole, though, its not as bad as i've started to make out. A so-so to good war flick will please blokes, as in general it endorses hanging out with buddies, blowing things up and disrespecting most laws for personal gain. Clint Eastwood was at the height of his stardom here. He was the top dog in Hollywood. If you want to see him give a better performance, and have much more fun watching him, see The Good the Bad and the Ugly instead. Dirty Harry would be a better option, if you feel like a cop flick, or his own Play Misty for Me (which you may or may not be impressed with - i took it with a grain of salt) for suspense/thriller/horror in the Hitchcockian vein. Remade as Fatal Attraction.
If you want a buddies-at-war picture, which has less explosions, better sticking-the-finger-up-at-establishment, more and better fun Donald Sutherland, and more innovative storytelling in general, check out Robert Altman's MASH.
You may like Kelly's Heroes, however. Its a very safe-feeling movie, because its very familiar. This reviewer, however, was reduced to boredom by that saturated sense of familiarity.