The Professionals (1966)

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1. 

   arrbrr

   J.W. Grant: You bastard.
   
   Rico: Yes, Sir. In my case an accident of birth. But you, Sir, you're a self-made man. :') 7 years 5 months ago
2. 

   dombrewer

   An extremely enjoyable "traditional" Western with a strong script from director/adaptor Richard Brooks, excellent cinematography from the ever reliable Conrad Hall and a great cast all on fine form - essentially it's the story of four mercenaries for hire (leader/tactician Lee Marvin, demolitions expert Burt Lancaster - both veterans of the Mexican revolution - tracker/bowman Woody Strode and horseman Robert Ryan) who are employed by a rich Texan (Ralph Bellamy) to cross over into Mexico to retrieve his kidnapped wife (Claudia Cardinale) from a notorious Mexican bandit (Jack Palance).
   Of course it's not as straightforward a mission as that, clearly signalled from the get-go by the protagonists' connection to the bandit and signs that the good guys and bad guys aren't so clearly defined. Given the date of release and the cast involved I was half expecting a darker story and a grittier conclusion - perhaps a touch more Peckinpah blood and cynicism - as it happened it's an exciting, often witty but harmless adventure in two fairly equal halves; finding the kidnapped wife and then the race to get her back to her husband before the bandits catch up with them. Lancaster ends up having the most to do and effectively steals the film as a cheeky, amoral chancer who has the best lines and the best scenes - his one-man stand off against the remaining bandits to buy his colleagues time to reach the border stands out, as does his flirtation with the always easy on the eye Cardinale. The end is something of a letdown in terms of the dramatic stakes where quips are more readily traded than bullets, but it's a finely made, easily digested Western nonetheless. 10 years 11 months ago
3. 

   Xondar

   In the movie they call the "bad guy" "Jesus" with the hard "J" and all I could think was "You don't f*ck with the Jesus." 2 years 10 months ago

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