Really, this is just a great caper flick

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2005)

It's interesting to read all of the rave reviews this movie gets. "Best war movie ever" and so forth. I admit its good, and an excellent example of the Hollywood movie making machine in full epic mode, but it's hardly the best war movie ever made. In fact, its not really a war movie at all. Its a jail breakout movie. It is more similar to movies like "escape from Alcatraz", "the hot rock" and "heat" and "the Italian job" than it is to Saving Private Ryan or full metal jacket.
It's also interesting how the focus of the hype for the movie focuses on Steve McQueen, when in fact, if anyone owns this movie, its James Garner. He displays the best range, is on the screen longer than anyone else and his role displays all of the ambiguities that were involved in the POW situation. Plus, cool for cool, he gives Steve a run for his money. McQueen on the other hand spends most of his time throwing a baseball and giving his trademark ambiguous smile and waiting to ride his motorcycle.
The rest of cast is a perfect bit of type casting, starting with Bronson, through Coburn and the rest. A pity Mr. Coburn wasn't given more to work with, but then, I've always liked him. Donald Pleasance makes the movie real.
As for Richard Attenborough, am I the only one cheering for the Germans against him by the end of the film? Maybe its just because he inflicted the world with the movie "Gandhi" but I find the man to be a supercilious twit. But again, that's kind of what his role called for.
As for the rest of the film, all very competently done, sets are good (although interiors look a little like cardboard at times) and someone could have dressed the Germans better. They all look like they bought off the rack uniforms without getting them altered. The theme music was as unmistakable as the pink panther or a spaghetti western, you can whistle it after the movie ends.
Lastly, and this was sort of inadvertent, watching this movie with so many great stars in their youthful prime, one is left with a sense of wistfulness now that most are dead and the remainder are a bunch of old men. Just like the real POWS.