This boot-strapped World War II movie isn't a classic, but it is neither a bomb. Believe it or not: writer & director Scott Martin's "Battle Force" opens with a German adage and its English translation: "Das Dicke Ende Kommit Noch" or "The Worst Is Yet To Come." Afterward, we are treated to the following preface for historical purposes: "In 1943 an elite fighting unit made up of US and Canadians was formed. Officially named the First Special Service Force, they were made up of mountain men, hunters and all around misfits. They were trained to scale cliffs, jump out of airplanes, and kill Nazis. In the summer of 1943, just days before the invasion of Sicily, the best of these men were handpicked for a desperate mission. This is the story of those men."
Basically, if you've seen the vintage Andrew V. McLaglen war movie "The Devil's Brigade" (1968) with William Holden, Cliff Robertson, and Vince Edwards, this 102-minute epic concerns the same group of commandos but on a far less spectacular scale. Some of the dialogue is amusing: "Sweaty women in Mississippi smell like jasmine." Since I live in Mississippi, nobody can accuse me of ethnocentrism. Primarily, two characters compete for being the most memorable. The first is buffoonish Mississippi Sergeant Douglas E. Dickie, and actor Clint Glenn Hummel is reminiscent of Brad Pitt's anti-Nazi officer in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" with his revulsion for all things Nazi. The second is Andreas Lyon's egotistical, man-in-black, Gestapo officer Reinhardt Von Klaus. This low-budget "Where Eagles Dare" World War II thriller is tolerably entertaining. The big difference between "Battle Force" and "Where Eagles Dare" is our heroes wear their Army uniforms into the combat zone rather than enemy uniforms. The firefights are nothing special. Martin must have seen "Saving Private Ryan" because he plays with the shutter speed to heighten the spontaneity of the action. These scramble-and-shoot firefights boasts some GCI blood splatter. Everybody fires a weapon in their fists. Meaning, you won't see any armor or aerial strafing. The final firefight is the best of the bunch because the actors have an entire bombed out village in which to shoot it out. One soldier wields a bolt-action rifle, but he is never shown racking the bolt between shots. According to the Internet Movie Database, Martin lensed the action in California at El Matador Beach, Malibu, and Santa Clarita.
The action unfolds on the coast of Sicily. The Germans ambush a recon team and capture an important American officer, Captain Lyle Lewis (Dennis LaValle of "Black Sea Raid") and three enlisted personnel. They beat up the captain and then a cheerful Gestapo officer, Reinhardt Von Klaus (Andreas Lyon) questions Lewis about their presence on Sicily. When Lewis refuses to divulge his orders, he watches in horror as the Gestapo interrogator brandishes a pair of pliers to extract a tooth without Novocain from a G.I.'s mouth. He threatens to do worst unless the captain coughs up the information that he wants. Meanwhile, Army Brass sends in Lieutenant Allen Wright (Scott Martin) and his six-man team of elite commandos from the First Special Service Force Unit. "I cannot overstate the importance of getting this man back," Lieutenant Colonel Shelton (Daniel Riordan of "My Blue Heaven") assures them. Shelton tells them about the forthcoming invasion of Sicily and the use of a dead man on Spanish soil planted with phony documents to throw the Nazis off the scent. He elaborates that Lewis was in case of this deception. Our ragtag team is shipped in by sea because the military won't risk airplane. The Commander explains that they have 72 hours to find their objective. Unfortunately, he adds that the enemy has a spy in the Italian Resistance.
Our heroes are dropped off four miles from the beach and immediately encounter enemy resistance. Wright and his team find Lewis after about three engagements with the enemy but they are trapped in a building surrounded by Germans. After they escape Van Klaus, our heroes hole up in an abandoned village. A major revelation occurs during the last 30 minutes. The traitor rears his ugly head after he buries his bayonet into Antonio's chest and starts killing off his own men. Wright contacts the 82nd Airborne and his men and he await their arrival. Van Klaus and his Germans show up and the biggest battle of the movie erupts. Eventually, Lewis explains what prompted him to turn traitor: "Because I got 30 years in and they sent me—me—to do recon on a mission that I should be planning with Ike and Patton." It isn't often that an Allied officer sells out his country because the Army Brass overlook him.
I'll watch any World War II movie at least once. Chiefly, "Battle Force" suffers from too many unrealistic scenes. Soldiers in a combat zone don't wander around out in the open like these lackadaisical guys. The acting is up to snuff. Martin is not a standard issue hero; he lacks the he-man bravado. The biggest problem is that few of the characters are differentiated enough to be memorable. Aside from Dickie and Van Klaus, Caterina is the only other character who makes an impression. She has a heroic death scene. Mark Atkins' cinematography and the production designs are fine enough. "Battle Force" ranks as an average World War II with some good moments that doesn't wear out its welcome.
Basically, if you've seen the vintage Andrew V. McLaglen war movie "The Devil's Brigade" (1968) with William Holden, Cliff Robertson, and Vince Edwards, this 102-minute epic concerns the same group of commandos but on a far less spectacular scale. Some of the dialogue is amusing: "Sweaty women in Mississippi smell like jasmine." Since I live in Mississippi, nobody can accuse me of ethnocentrism. Primarily, two characters compete for being the most memorable. The first is buffoonish Mississippi Sergeant Douglas E. Dickie, and actor Clint Glenn Hummel is reminiscent of Brad Pitt's anti-Nazi officer in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" with his revulsion for all things Nazi. The second is Andreas Lyon's egotistical, man-in-black, Gestapo officer Reinhardt Von Klaus. This low-budget "Where Eagles Dare" World War II thriller is tolerably entertaining. The big difference between "Battle Force" and "Where Eagles Dare" is our heroes wear their Army uniforms into the combat zone rather than enemy uniforms. The firefights are nothing special. Martin must have seen "Saving Private Ryan" because he plays with the shutter speed to heighten the spontaneity of the action. These scramble-and-shoot firefights boasts some GCI blood splatter. Everybody fires a weapon in their fists. Meaning, you won't see any armor or aerial strafing. The final firefight is the best of the bunch because the actors have an entire bombed out village in which to shoot it out. One soldier wields a bolt-action rifle, but he is never shown racking the bolt between shots. According to the Internet Movie Database, Martin lensed the action in California at El Matador Beach, Malibu, and Santa Clarita.
The action unfolds on the coast of Sicily. The Germans ambush a recon team and capture an important American officer, Captain Lyle Lewis (Dennis LaValle of "Black Sea Raid") and three enlisted personnel. They beat up the captain and then a cheerful Gestapo officer, Reinhardt Von Klaus (Andreas Lyon) questions Lewis about their presence on Sicily. When Lewis refuses to divulge his orders, he watches in horror as the Gestapo interrogator brandishes a pair of pliers to extract a tooth without Novocain from a G.I.'s mouth. He threatens to do worst unless the captain coughs up the information that he wants. Meanwhile, Army Brass sends in Lieutenant Allen Wright (Scott Martin) and his six-man team of elite commandos from the First Special Service Force Unit. "I cannot overstate the importance of getting this man back," Lieutenant Colonel Shelton (Daniel Riordan of "My Blue Heaven") assures them. Shelton tells them about the forthcoming invasion of Sicily and the use of a dead man on Spanish soil planted with phony documents to throw the Nazis off the scent. He elaborates that Lewis was in case of this deception. Our ragtag team is shipped in by sea because the military won't risk airplane. The Commander explains that they have 72 hours to find their objective. Unfortunately, he adds that the enemy has a spy in the Italian Resistance.
Our heroes are dropped off four miles from the beach and immediately encounter enemy resistance. Wright and his team find Lewis after about three engagements with the enemy but they are trapped in a building surrounded by Germans. After they escape Van Klaus, our heroes hole up in an abandoned village. A major revelation occurs during the last 30 minutes. The traitor rears his ugly head after he buries his bayonet into Antonio's chest and starts killing off his own men. Wright contacts the 82nd Airborne and his men and he await their arrival. Van Klaus and his Germans show up and the biggest battle of the movie erupts. Eventually, Lewis explains what prompted him to turn traitor: "Because I got 30 years in and they sent me—me—to do recon on a mission that I should be planning with Ike and Patton." It isn't often that an Allied officer sells out his country because the Army Brass overlook him.
I'll watch any World War II movie at least once. Chiefly, "Battle Force" suffers from too many unrealistic scenes. Soldiers in a combat zone don't wander around out in the open like these lackadaisical guys. The acting is up to snuff. Martin is not a standard issue hero; he lacks the he-man bravado. The biggest problem is that few of the characters are differentiated enough to be memorable. Aside from Dickie and Van Klaus, Caterina is the only other character who makes an impression. She has a heroic death scene. Mark Atkins' cinematography and the production designs are fine enough. "Battle Force" ranks as an average World War II with some good moments that doesn't wear out its welcome.