Review of The Dirty Dozen (1967) by Anssi V — 13 Jan 2012

An old WW II film, but still one of the best war movies I've ever seen. The all-time ensemble cast helps, the film has just the right amount of humour and action mixed in and the pacing is actually pretty decent with a clear three act structure.

Nowadays the idea of putting together a ragtag bunch of misfits and giving them an almost impossible task to complete is nothing new. We have seen it in The Expendables, we have seen it in the Inglourious Basterds, we have seen it in the Armageddon, but this film predates all of those and is actually one of the better adaptations of the said idea.

All the team members have clear identities, especially the key members all have amazing actors to play them and they have genuine chemistry. So, if the characters and the plot work, then what doesn't work? Well, while the plot itself holds up pretty decently, the premise of the film is a bit far-fetched.

The mission the dirty dozen is given is one that isn't really suited to their expertise and isn't anything that couldn't have been handled by the real Special Ops. It would have made a bit more sense had the dozen had a common theme between themselves.

Perhaps they all could have been former commandos or perhaps demolition experts. Now they were just inmates. But, I'm nitpicking here, as it doesn't really take away from the film. This film is more about the characters and the action.

It's not supposed to be a war documentary, it's supposed to be entertainment. And that it certainly is.