My rating: 3.5 out of 5
Premise
*A mixed group of American warfighters are being transported as prisoners in the middle of WWII France. They are ambushed by enemies and are set free. They then spend the rest of their time trying to reach Switzerland, fighting bad guys and running dangerous missions for the French resistance as they go along.
The Good Things
*Video quality is good. It is very colorful, detailed, and clean.
*Includes a number of documentaries, featurettes, trailers, and a bonus CD soundtrack.
*The movie has a great deal of action (although much of it is quite over-the-top).
*The photography is interesting. Some of it is jittery and rough, but other shots are solid. There are also some cool slow-motion scenes.
*Exterior locations are excellent. It looks like they used real European settings (like the scene in the castle).
*The story is not bad. It is well-paced and easy to follow.
*The characters are not bad. They aren't too deep or complex, but they are interesting to watch. Their acting may be seen as ridiculously over-the-top, but I'd say it's good.
*Music is not bad; it's very boisterous and upbeat.
The Bad Things
*Well, you can either call this a really bad movie or a really good cult/B-movie. See below for details.
*Not for young kids; it's unrated, but contains a scene with nudity (nude girls with guns, nonetheless), some violence, and some swearing.
The Questionable Things
*The sound quality is okay; I think it had too many parts where some volume was too low and other parts were too high. Most of the dialogue can still be understood.
*The dialogue is loaded with lines that are...well...ridiculous! If you don't mind, it may not bother you much. I found myself laughing at most of it.
*The plot is riddled with historical inaccuracies. There were some nice touches, like having the guys going after the V2 rocket. But other details, like the types of uniforms, the types of vehicles, and the weapons, are way off. The portrayal of the French resistance is way off. Having a colonel parachuting into the woods is way off. You do not want to see this for any history lessons; you'll either hate it or love the absurdity.
*Even though there are a lot of neat action scenes, many of them are choreographed in a really ridiculous over-the-top fashion. Everybody shoots their guns by wildly waving them around. Everybody who is shot falls over like they're slipping on banana peels. One guy manages to kill people with a slingshot. Nobody ever runs out of ammo. Bad guys appear out of nowhere in endless hoardes. Once again, you'll either hate it, or love the absurdity.
*Some things that happen in the story makes you wonder "why did they do that?"
*The romance story for this whole movie is kind-of contrived. Once again, you'll either hate it, or love the absurdity.
*Some of the sets and props look cheap. Some special effects are obvious models or matte paintings. If you're expecting a high production value, this may dissapoint you.
*Some parts seem to be derrived from other things. Aside from "The Dirty Dozen," I thought of "Bridge on the River Kwai" as I watched the ending. My parents thought one scene resembled the old "Mission Impossible" series (gotta love it how the guy stops a self-destruct device by shoving a pencil in the gears).
I expected a rough, gritty, bloody war epic...but I guess that's what Tarantino's new film will be like. This original version is very over-the-top, with lots of absurd dialogue, action, and events that could never really happen in real life. I wound up laughing at the whole thing, because in nearly every scene, there was something absurd. I thought it was fun because of this, but if you're like my parents, you might be disgusted instead. Rent it to see what you think.
Top reviews from the United States
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Top reviews from other countries
BlueSkyBob
Don't get confused as to what you are buying....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 24, 2013
Paul Cox
Probably my favourite Tarantino film after Django
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San1471
I bought the wrong dvd - a mistake I ended up NOT regretting! *THIS IS NOT THE MODERN FILM BY TARANTINO*
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Timely delivery
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