Review of Kelly's Heroes (1970) by Michael Y — 19 Aug 2011

A different kind of war story made great with a big name cast. Kelly's Heroes WWII at it's most fun and adventurous.

Clint Eastwood stars as Kelly, a former lieutenant in WWII who has a big grudge againts his superious officers. After one successful mission he captures a German soldier who speaks of 1,400 gold bars in a bank in occupied France. It would be a perfect war crime to steal that gold. So Kelly and his band of soldiers also tired of the damn war set out to invade, steal, and kick Nazi ass. There have been a lot of fun takes on war, and witht he rise of the Vietnam War there just has to be another anti-war movie. Kelly's Heroes is a kind of cross between Catch-22 and The Dirty Dozen. This movie is a black comedy take on war where a band of renegade soldiers will do whatever the hell they want. And of coarse, like Catch-22 and The Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Heroes stars a great group of actors: Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Conner, and even Canada's pride and joy, Donald Sutherland in a wild role as a beatnick/hippie tank driver.

A very fine WWII recreation indeed. Although I'd have to admit, this movie kind of underdevelpoed at times. Because this movie is a lighter take on war and is a bit simpler in its story, it doesn't rely on a bunch of elaborate sets or have a huge battlefield. Kelly's Heroes is more like a spaghetti western, really. We see the lands where soldiers aren't supposed to cross. But when the climax reaches closer into the little french town, then that's when all hell breaks loose with gets cinematography and stunts. The battle in the small town is definitely the best part of the movie, with tanks, explosions, and a great music score by Lalo Schifrin. But we're also taken through a suspenceful mine-field scene and a bridge bombing that is well created. There is this song in the movie that kind of completely kills the serious mood of the movie, but then again it is kind of catchy.

It's yet another dark comedy/action packed take on war. It might not be AS GOOD as Catch-22 or The Dirty Dozen, but it is a classic treat about the crazyness of war and men who risk their lives on an immoral mission to be rich.