Great film from beginning to end

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2006)

***CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!*** The Dirty dozen is a movie whose name I've often heard yet never had the pleasure of seeing. Lee Marvin did a superb job leading the cast in their tale of teamwork and heroism, and I feel the cast was well selected. Even better, unlike the war movies of today which focus entirely on the battles and killing, The Dirty Dozen spends well over half the film on character development and building the relationships between the cast. And when they finally do get to the fighting it isn't just repetitive waves of enemies that are unrealistically held off by twelve men. Instead it portrays the actual aspects of war where the good guys are human and die. Though only 3 of the group survived, the deaths of the men aren't in vain. Many of them would have died had they refused to take part in the mission, though by dying in battle they gave their lives for their country and earned back the honor they lost through their crimes. The only reason I don't give this a 10 out of 10 is that the story began lagging slightly towards the middle, prior to their part in the war games. But overall, this is one of the best films ever created.