See it- This superb actioner is very light-hearted, but packs quite a punch. Adventure meets war when hunters in Africa run into Germans during World War I. This underrated film starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore has a recipe with just the right blend of comedy and action. But its Marvin who offers the lions share of the hilarity in the first half of the movie. The second half of the movie is much more serious, as the two main characters volunteer to go on a dangerous mission with the objective of blowing up a German battleship docked for repairs. To those who don't like this movie, I say, in the words of Lee Marvin, "See you in a minute…We'll shout at the devil together!" 3.5 action rating

It seems incredible that the same decade which brought Star Wars to the silvery screen disgorged such unutterable tripe as this and many other 'adventure' movies. I am reminded of the similarly lavish, but equally wretched 'Ashanti' outlined elsewhere.Whatever motivated A-list actors to sign-on for such wastes of celluloid is frankly beyond this writer. They must have been very, very desperate. To be perfectly candid, Roger Moore's appearance in any movie is the kiss of death. Although extremely handsome in his youth, his entire acting career has been predicated upon an ability to raise one eyebrow. Every emotion from A to B is conveyed by this simple stratagem. His were the dog-days of James Bond. Lee Marvin on the other hand has featured in some very worthy outings, perhaps most memorably 'Paint Your Wagon' and 'The Dirty Dozen'. He has a comic streak, but he is much better when he plays it straight.The excellent Ian Holm is a throwaway, hardly recognisable blacked-up as a mute African. Everyone else just turned up for their pay-cheques.The only plausible and watchable element is the German cruiser. It looks like a very large model. But it is believably massive and appears authentic - as do its crew. The rest isn't even hokum. The childish comedy jars with the brutality and violence in a story that meanders clumsily about, as if the script itself had had too many whiffs of Lee Marvin's gin. Here is a director who simply doesn't know where he's going. There are hints of 'The African Queen', a snatch from 'The Pride & The Passion', 'Gold', and one or two other rip-offs from movies who's titles don't come readily to mind.Strangely, I have seen it 3 times, each occasion it has been shown on television when I have been laid low with a cold or the flu. Perhaps that is influencing my judgement - but not much.Compare it with any Indiana Jones movie and you will see what I mean.I have given it two stars; one for the battleship and the other because it finally comes to an end, though heaven knows it takes long enough to do that.Time for another Lemsip, I think.

This film had all the ingredients of a good adventure movie, but it revealed incompetence at almost every level.The presence of Roger Moore in the cast list is usually a sign that the movie is not going to be anything more than mediocre, because Moore always has lead roles and he can't act. But this movie also had Ian Holm and Lee Marvin in it, and was based on a Wilbur smith book, so I thought I'd give it a chance when I saw the DVD for sale in the bargain bin...It was a mistake. The opening scene appeared to start in the middle of a reel, with sound suddenly appearing as if the first second of the soundtrack had been truncated. The scene showed a dreadnought at sea with a German crew. This bad editing was a sign of things to come, but the scene with the dreadnought was interesting enough to keep me watching. The special effects were good, and the crew wore the proper uniforms and spoke in German, indicating that the director at least paid attention to historical detail. So I kept watching, and then Moore appeared and my suspicions were confirmed. Bad acting, clichéd lines, clichéd cinematography and cheap humour...but worst of all, there is a disastrous attempt to blend the light-hearted feel of the film with serious drama and tragedy. It just does not work. Much of the time I felt like I was watching a collection of hastily strung together clips, and then the film ended as suddenly and as badly as it started – in the middle of clip.

This guy seems to have been the most under-rated star in the Biz. His dry sense of humor combined with a subtle charisma made Lee Marvin one of the most likeable stars of the war movie genre. Here he played an older soldier, past his prime, that coaxes the younger Roger Moore into doing life-endangering things against the Germans. This is done with much humor, as Moore is in love with Marvin's daughter, and feels compelled out of family honor to do whatever he can. The action is really excellent, and the love story is touching. A must see for any war movie fan, and/or Moore fan. Marvin, himself, delivers another Marvin like performance, and reminds viewers of his earlier days from the film "The Dirty Dozen".