Positive and Negative waves

Rating: 6/10 (11 February 2007)

During a battle on the western front of the Second World War Pvt. Kelly learns of a secret stash of gold from a Nazi officer. He decides to set out during three days of R&R with a group of equally enterprising soldiers to get the gold. The problem is that the gold is secure in a bank 30 or so miles behind enemy lines, but that doesn't stop the group of strange and interesting characters to go get it anyway.
The movie is part satire, part action movie, and part plain old comedy. Basically it covers, or tries to cover, as mush ground as its heroes do. And it is that which ultimately works against the movie as the different tones end up interfering with one another. By the time you get to the scene where the main characters annihilate a Nazi patrol you start to think that director Brian G. Hutton didn't fully switch gears from his previous movie, Where Eagles Dare. Big loud explosive shootouts in which the Americans wipe out what must be at least 10 times their number by the end of the movie. That makes the movie a boys own action adventure that Where Eagles Dare was, but then the goofy comedy bits throw it off and the satire never really takes effect.
Getting back to the scene where the patrol is killed: two of the Americans also perish in the scene and for some reason sad music comes on as the rest of the heroes with sad faces look on their dead comrades ignoring the fact that they just slaughtered 30 German Soldiers. It feels absurd to have an all out action movie shootout followed by emotions you'd see in a drama. There should at least be some hint towards the other side of what just happened, but the film provides none.
However the rest of the movie is a lot better. The premise is interesting, the characters odd in a good way, and the production is pretty stunning. Keep in mind that this is 1970, yet the town at the end manages to at least equal the set in the final sequence in Saving Private Ryan. The rest of the sets and locations are just as good. Then the costumes, equipment, and many other details are convincing and impressive.
Overall it's good and entertaining (positive waves), but the constant changes in tone are annoying (negative waves). --- 6/10
Rated PG for violence