Light-hearted WWII romp is entertaining action film...

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2006)

What films like DESPERATE JOURNEY did for WWII audiences at the time of release, KELLY'S HEROES did for audiences in 1970 in showing the humor and banter of men in trying wartime circumstances determined to carry out a certain mission. Here the mission is the heist of gold behind enemy lines--something Kelly inadvertently finds out about before deciding that his troopers will carry out the scheme right under the noses of the Nazis.
It's all in fun, and some of it is even funnier considering that hippies didn't exist in the '40s so that the flavorsome performance of DONALD SUTHERLAND as Sgt. Oddball is really an anachronism. His quips are strictly from the '70s but his contribution is so full of laughs that it's easily forgiven in the spirit of enjoying a war story that doesn't take itself seriously in the first place.
All the men seem to be having a great time--including CLINT EASTWOOD, TELLY SAVALAS, CARROL O'CONNOR, DONALD SUTHERLAND, RICHARD DAVALOS, GAVIN MacLEOD, HARRY DEAN STANTON and DON RICKLES.
Summing up: Just the right brew for a lighter look at wartime escapades!