Simple minded boys-own action adventure story - but still evergreen entertainment.

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2004)

A set of crack British troops - with a little American help - takes on a Austrian mountain stronghold during Word War II.
While sounding a little clichÃ©d in the telling (The Guns of Navarone with new scenery?), this typical piece of Alistair MacLean nonsense (written especially for the screen and only later a novel) makes a very good movie, with spills, thrills and easy-for-the- village-idiot-to-follow action. The power casting of Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton is a little wasted in this sort of thing, but they look like they are having fun. Those looking for feminist brownie-points should note the blank-eyed Mary Ure who handles a machine gun like she is using a hairdryer!
It is is said that this is Clint Eastwood's most murderous role, I would hate to think how many people he shoots here. Certainly their ammunition bag seems not have a bottom in it.
This is not meant to be taken seriously and the use of helicopters does seem a bit out of time (indeed the model used is way out of time!), but we are only in a video game land so we can't dwell too much.
Interestingly the Austrian castle in the film had never been stormed in real life and some of the extras employed in the film had been around at the time of the real Nazi uprising! Some of the locals found it all a bit much, even in jest.
Dim the lights, get yourself in a comfy chair, turn off your IQ down 100 points and enjoy. Simple minded entertainment with the emphasis on the word simple.