6/10
dark of the sun
29 January 2021
First half is solid if at times too brutal action/adventure (i.e. didn't much care for the execution of two kids by the cartoon Nazi) with paradoxically lovely location shooting in Jamaica, standing in for The Congo. Unfortunately, in the second half, director Jack Cardiff yields control to Ranald McDougal and Adrian Spies' too talky screenplay and the action has to find its way around dull scenes of soul searching and philosophizing over the Big Question of "What is the basic immmorality of a mercenary?" Sound a bit pretentious? Yeah, I thought so, too. As for the acting it's hit and miss. Rod Taylor is much better in the first half with his sardonic Aussie bit than he is in the second half with his blood streaked, breast beating bit. As for Jim Brown he is, as usual, wooden throughout. Peter Carstens does as well as can be expected with the stereotyped "Ve vill make you talk" storm trooper role and Yvette Mimieux is ok eye candy. Best performance is Kenneth More as the drunken doc (another cliche, but More embraces it well) . Give this one a C plus.
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