I was craving for an action-kick and something that would give me a lot of bang for my buck. Enzo G. Castellari's late 70s rough 'n' tumble, yet carefree Spaghetti war adventure "INGLORIOUS BASTARDS" delivered in spades. I must admit with that title, I was expecting something fairly cutthroat, but the tongue-in-cheek style was enjoyable nonetheless. Led by ultra-smooth Bo Svenson, ice-cold Ian Bannen and badass Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, a group of American soldiers in war-torn Europe are in the process of being escorted to military prison, when they're attacked by German artillery enabling five of the prisoners to escape. Their only hope of freedom is to get to neutral Switzerland; but their plans hit a snag when they find themselves mistaken for an American force made up for a deadly commando mission by the French underground.
Castellari's sturdy, up-tempo handling makes sure the screen is lit up with frequent explosions, hardy stunts and ferocious firefights amongst a country side of carnage and destruction; bodies, vehicles and infrastructure. Such a beautiful sight when glorious slow mo, and Francesco De Masi dynamic score gratuitously finds its way into back-to-back assault sequences and characters going out in a blaze of shot-up glory. Things don't always go to plan, just means there's more chaos ensured. Surprisingly though, it's compelling and well-written too. There's a little more meat to the wily plot, snappy humor done with a smile, strong characters with more than just black and white shades, believable camaraderie where dialogues are chewed up and spat out with conviction. In a way it gives you a bit of everything in this milked out men on mission formula, yet the spin on it is that it doesn't start out like that and that's where it's at its most effective.
Castellari's sturdy, up-tempo handling makes sure the screen is lit up with frequent explosions, hardy stunts and ferocious firefights amongst a country side of carnage and destruction; bodies, vehicles and infrastructure. Such a beautiful sight when glorious slow mo, and Francesco De Masi dynamic score gratuitously finds its way into back-to-back assault sequences and characters going out in a blaze of shot-up glory. Things don't always go to plan, just means there's more chaos ensured. Surprisingly though, it's compelling and well-written too. There's a little more meat to the wily plot, snappy humor done with a smile, strong characters with more than just black and white shades, believable camaraderie where dialogues are chewed up and spat out with conviction. In a way it gives you a bit of everything in this milked out men on mission formula, yet the spin on it is that it doesn't start out like that and that's where it's at its most effective.