Sam Fuller’s brash look at the Korean War follows the trails of a hard boiled grunt named Zack. Zack is a cold brute who survived a deadly ambush which killed the rest of his squad. Accompanied by a young Korean boy Short Round, Zack makes his way back to his company. He joins forces with other lost American soldiers to fight off Korean troops. The script by Fuller is heavy in attitude and theatrics but is still an interesting watch. Like his later World War II film The Big Red One, Fuller has an obvious respect for war and the front line soldiers but his belligerent tone is distracting. He sets up compelling conflicts but cuts them with obtuse, overly dramatic dialog which keeps the scenes from gaining depth.

If you love war movies, even anti-war movies, this is a solid pick. It is a sturdy film that has a point to make and makes it more than once. It is also an interesting look at soldiering. It retains the dramatics common to the time in which it was made. This said, I enjoyed much of it and as far as war films are concerned, I’ve seen a lot worse.


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Labels: film, movie review, Sam Fuller