Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Leofwine_draca THE PROFESSIONALS is a decent, old-fashioned western with a good feel to it. It's one of those men-on-a-mission type films in which four renowned gunfighters (who are each introduced in an effective pre-credits sequence) are sent to aid a man whose wife has been kidnapped by Mexican bandits. What follows is a suspense-filled adventure as the quartet find themselves up against a huge gang of well-armed men and must come up with an explosive plan to rescue the woman.Films like THE PROFESSIONALS seem to have their own effortless charm that make them somewhat immortal in the annals of cinema. Certainly this is a vibrant, colourful adventure and it's easy to sit back and enjoy the suspense-fuelled sequences. Plus, you're in the company of the great old-time actors, another factor in the movie's favour. The ubiquitous Lee Marvin stars alongside Burt Lancaster, with the underrated Robert Ryan and Woody Strode in . The stock villain role is given over to the one-of-a-kind Jack Palance.THE PROFESSIONALS was shot in Mexico in some fine mountainous locations so it's something of a visual feast. The long infiltration sequence in the middle of the film is a masterclass in tension, a tension that is successfully carried through until the climax. There are the requisite twists and turns in the plot, alongside well-directed action and the ample charms of both Claudia Cardinale and Maria Gomez. In essence, there's nothing to dislike about a film that is both watchable and a thoroughly human viewing experience.

HardToFindMovies I really wanted to enjoy The Professionals and I gave this film every opportunity to entertain...but in the end I was not satisfied. This picture is 117 minutes but it seems more like 3.5 hours as the scenes move slowly (except for the gun battles) and the dialogue is stilted and stale. There is a scene in the middle of the picture where Mexican bandit Jack Palance attacks a train filled with Mexican soldiers and a ridiculous blood bath occurs. The scene is shot and acted so casually that the picture briefly dips into farce. Palance walks down a line of sitting prisoners and shots each in the back in such a comical fashion that I actually burst out laughing. This film tries hard to depict light hearted gun battles for some unknown reason. The director Richard Brooks wants us to believe that The Professionals are all people of solid morals even though dozens of people are killed. The premise of the film is 4 tough guys go to Mexico to save Cardinale who is supposedly the kidnapped bride of the much older and always excellent Ralph Bellamy, many people end up dieing before the so-called surprise moral ending. The ending of the film is given away half way through the picture so the ending is not really exciting to anyone who has been paying attention. This acting of this film is made up of Burt Lancaster quickly becoming the lead character and doing his usual routine as the smiling bandit with a heart of gold. Lee Marvin is his usual rough edged character riffing one liners and heavy stares throughout the picture but this is not one of his best works-he seems to sleepwalk through much of the film. Robert Ryan plays a good guy in this picture and as always is understated and excellent and Woody Strode also does good work despite his underwritten character. Claudia Cardinale definitely gives it her all as the constantly enraged Mexican beauty (she pulls it off even though she is actually Italian). Claudia is quite good looking and it is fun to watch her chew-the-scenery with her heavy acting. Overall I give this picture a 5 out of 10 due to its weak script and poor editing...it was shot beautifully and had strong actors but it just doesn't come together and has many slow points. I had hoped for a classic but ended up watching an overlong average Western.

knucklebreather "The Professionals" is one of those westerns made when the genre was getting a little tired, but before it was okay to completely throw out the old rules. The story is simple enough: a wealthy land baron hires four professionals, who are each the best at what they do, to go on a daring mission deep into Mexico, amid a faltering revolution, to bring back his kidnapped wife. Lee Marvin leads the band, playing a grizzled veteran of that revolution, with Burt Lancaster receiving top-billing and playing a dynamite expert who is easily tempted by women and adventure. The crew is rounded out by a bow-and-arrow and tracking expert (Woody Strode) and a veteran horseman (Robert Ryan). This is definitely a movie that hangs its hat on action, with shootouts spaced periodically through the movie to keep the audience awake and a signature raid on the Mexican revolutionaries/kidnappers camp at mid- film that was only a notch or two below similar scenes in more modern films, and was thus very enjoyable. These scenes were fine, albeit a little silly with the Lancaster's bottomless supply of amazing TNT. However, the rest of the movie plods on predictably. There are definitely attempts at character development but perhaps the wooden Lee Marvin as a central character makes the whole thing hard to enjoy except when the bullets (and TNT-laden arrows) are flying. I was definitely disappointed when the spectacular camp raid scene ended too quickly and I realized there were still over 30 minutes of film left with the best scene in the rear-view mirror.I would watch about 20 or 30 other classic westerns before getting to this one. It's not bad, the action sequences were certainly worth the price of ission in 1966, but it shows why the traditional western as a dominant genre was living on borrowed time.

Tweekums When wealthy Texan Joe Grant hires Henry 'Rico' Fardan to lead a small group deep into revolutionary Mexico to rescue his kidnapped wife Rico knows it won't be an easy job; four men against an army! Mrs Grant is being held by a revolutionary by the name of Jesus Raza who Rico and Bill Dolworth, an explosives expert, fought along side earlier in the war. It isn't long after they cross the border that they meet the first of Raza's men... clearly it won't be easy getting to his Hacienda and once there it will be even harder to get Mrs Grant out and back to her husband unharmed. Once they get to her they find they have another problem; she left Grant of her own free will and is in love with Raza... still they have been paid to take her back to her husband so take her back they will.The opening scene where Rico is firing a machine gun next to a car makes it clear that this is set much later than most westerns; that doesn't stop it being a 'proper' western. While he doesn't get top billing Lee Marvin is definitely the star of the film and he does a fine job as Rico, he is ably ed by Burt Lancaster (the official star) as Dolworth, Woody Strode as Jake Sharp, an expert with a longbow and Robert Ryan as the fourth and final member of the rescue party. Claudia Cardinale puts in a feisty performance as the 'kidnapped' Maria Grant.Fans of the genre or people just wanting an exciting adventure should enjoy this as there is plenty of action almost from the moment they cross the border; this action is mainly shootouts but there is also a train ambush and when we get to the raid on the hacienda there are numerous spectacular explosions. This may be the midpoint of the film but the return north is no less exciting. While the twists weren't all that surprising they were believable and added a bit more interest to the story.