Here are some amazing reviews
The U.K. has a strong tradition in making decent WWII movies. This, is NOT one of them! The acting, script, storyline, accents, special effects,... you name it, are just so awful. Mr. Madsen's appearance on the DVD cover drew me in but I was not rewarded with his capabilities. The same could almost be said of Mr. Zane who at least was capable and almost mildly amusing at times. It seemed he knew the film was rotten so he walked his way through the "action."
Mr. Tod (I do hope it is not Todd), I am sorry to see your money spent on this film. I do hope you will see the return of it due to rentals so that you can invest again in future UK films. In the meantime, I STRONGLY suggest avoiding this film at all costs. To see how a WWII film can be done in England, rent The Dambusters,
An insult to the Dutch, this film.
Bad acting worries no-one, even though this movie is full of it.
But look at the scenery. It doesn't even *half* look dutch. At any time. What is that contraption they bring into view repeatedly to act as different "Dutch windmills"
Have the makers of this movie ever even seen a real one? I don't think so.
Had the makers of this movie delved slightly deeper into the material that this movie pretends to be about, I'm quite sure they would have been able to make a real good movie....
The story of the various treasures stolen by the nazi's is still actual, and it should not be told by people who do not know how a real Dutch windmill looks.
Forgive me for not going into the "bad acting" part. I have never seen worse.
This filmed sucked from the start. Its just as well the guy in command at the beginning of the film got shot coz his accent was so indescribable and annoying. And what chances did they have with a dim wit medic like that. Who ever did the music hadn't a clue, especially when Mr Madsen appears and its some sleazy late night bar jazz music going on and as for the lame rock music in parts..well not exactly on a 1940's theme are they. I can understand the makers were trying to be funny but it was as funny as dying of dysentery in a muddy trench. Also were the black & white cut scenes really necessary. Yes war really did happen. In fact they were probably more interesting than the rest of the film. For the few good actors it starred it could have been a great film but alas the script was weak. Worst war film I've watched since 'We were Soldiers'. Madsen was in it purely to boost the sales. I feel raped of my time watching this. Harsh I know but what a disappointment. Give me Kelly Heroes any day.
This was sad. The plot & apparently interesting characters made me hope for a Kelly's Heroes redux but instead ended up with something of a Bad News Bores. All the accents were horrible, be they German, Canadian, or some British varieties. The plot assembled a complex finale that was not only impossible to follow but it looks like it was impossible to shoot as well! Neither was it clear what everyone's motivations were so you had to just put your faith in the director & screenwriter but without any reward.
Interesting characters: the mysterious British paratrooper, the Canadian pilot (he had potential), the "dutch" partisans, and the pair of German ne'er-do-wells. But as in some Greek tragedy, they're left to flounder by the gods.
Operation Market Garden did exist. It was smart to put that event as a backdrop but difficult for the producers ($$) to convincingly place Operation Matchbox in this context - apart from the special effects involved in the gliders (I hope people know that this actually happened). As a result, the collection of oddball soldiers and this plot needed to work harder than they did to make this film shine. Sadly, nothing came through.
What I liked is that many characters were not black & white - something that reflects true wartime conditions when the very best & worst in men & women comes out. Regardless, this was supposed to be an entertaining film, not what it ended up being.
Some would question why I would see or review such a film. I do believe in diamonds in the rough and look for charm, lucidity, and originality but not at the expense of wasting my time.
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This is my first comment on IMDb. I am a big fan of WWII films, so when I saw this one at Blockbuster I picked it up. The plot summary sounded interesting. Unfortunately, the plot summary on the DVD case was the best part of this production.
I can't really comment on the quality of the acting, because I think it is impossible for an actor to turn in a good performance when he/she is given nothing to work with. The plot was muddy to begin with, there was no clarity as to why Operation Matchbox was so important for the British. The viewer was left in the dark as to what was going on. The rationale of the SS goons did happen to make sense, but the characters were so stereotyped as to make them seem like cartoon characters with no believability at all. Finally the motivation for Vollner's character was never make clear. He and his friend Beck just seemed like a couple of refugees out of a Three Stooges movie out to make a score.
Have I mentioned the cartoon like aspect to the writing yet? Madsen's character ( the American Colonel ) was straight out of a comic book. What American military man did the writers have n mind - someone from Hogan's Heroes?
This is the first time I have given a 1 rating to a film. But this one was so horrid it deserved it. It also deserved it for being an insult to the intelligence of WWII genre fans. This was a real stinker of a movie. There is no excuse for this sort of amateurism.