The Wild Geese (1978)

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I don't know what was wrong with composer Roy Budd. The Wild Geese was a dramatic war movie, but Budd produced a comedic score for most of the movie. It was very distracting, not to mention misleading.Stewart Granger orders Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, and Hardy Kruger to rescue a captured African king from a South African coupe, or something to that effect. In any case, the slightly older men aren't shown to be in their primes anymore, and when they gather additional troops, it doesn't really seem likely they'll succeed. This isn't comical; there's a sense of dread lurking overhead.The ending is terribly sad, but since it's a war movie, tragedy should be expected. The racial argument between Hardy Kruger and Winston Ntshona was very fascinating, and that portion of the plot elevated the movie from just a war movie to an interesting drama. I also found it amusing that Burton and Harris were supposed to be best friends, since Burton originated the King Arthur role in Broadway's Camelot, and Harris took over for the film version a few years later. All in all, it's a pretty good war movie, but it's not my absolute favorite. Give it a try and see what you think!

Merchant banker Sir Edward Matherson hires colonel Allen Faulkner (Richard Burton) to lead soldiers of fortune to rescue Julius Limbani, imprisoned leader of an African country. Faulkner hires various people including pilot Shawn Fynn (Roger Moore) and Rafer Janders (Richard Harris) in a cloak and dagger operation in London. They successfully rescue Limbani but their extraction takes off without them. Matherson has made a new deal with the new leader of the country.It's a bit slow at the start. The rounding up of the men and the training isn't very exciting or interesting. It builds the characters but that could be done better. There is an argument of the inherent racism in the movie. It has some valid points but the mercenaries aren't all white. There are some black 'good guys'. I won't defend the filming taking place in South Africa. I just don't think that any racism in the movie is that out of the ordinary for that era. The politics of Apatheid probably accentuated any problems. This is rip-roaring mercenary fun when it works.

What makes this movie the classic it is, is the chemistry between lead- and supporting actors, all among the finest of their time: Roger Moore essentially plays his cool James-Bond-persona in camouflage (indeed, the jovial manner in which he offs his opponents while chomping a cigar makes one believe he still owns a "licence to kill"). Burton convinces as boozed-out, aging and fallen out of fortune mercenary, Harris as his reluctant buddy and Krueger (although his sudden conversion from racist Afrikaner to moderate is more than a little sudden and implausible), Krueger plays the redneck Boer with a heart to a tit.The rest of the cast is similar formidable: Stewart Granger, although generally known for his dandy-roles, is suitable unlikeable as aristocratic, double-dealing employer, Frank Finlay excellent even in a tiny role as missionary, one cannot help but like Kenneth Griffith as gay comedic-sidekick-cum-hero, Ian Yule, all makes a perfect cast for this Film. And of course the great, late Jack Watson as aging trainer, who at all times looks like longing for the battlefield while trimming his garden in England, while longing for his garden when sitting in the training-camp, eating what surely must have been beans and sausages. Watsons "training" and cuss-tirades are among the highlights of the film.As for the accusations of being racist (having been filmed in South-Africa), even today, decades after the apartheid-regime has ended: I highly doubt that filming added much financially to the then-government. If anything it put some money in the pockets of the locals involved. The leading African cast other than the enemy-soldiers of course, namely John Kani and Winston Ntshona, is generally portrayed positive and amiable and as for accusing the film for showing African countries as either tribal and backward or run by military despots and juntas – well, one needs only look toward the country that was back then called Rhodesia today or perhaps at Uganda, one of the more "stable" countries in Africa, where they're considering a bill that will make homosexuality a crime punishable by death, at the time I'm tipping these words. A negative reputation usually doesn't come from nowhere.A final word about the „controversial" theme-song by Joan Armatrading: As with most things, it's really a matter of taste and for me personally the inability of the singer to hit a correct note rather soured my teeth. Other than that, I found this opening schmaltz ballad about as appropriate for a mercenary-film as if one had used "My heart will go on" to open the movie "300" (but that's just my subjective opinion).8/10

When mercenary leader Colonel Faulkner is hired by wealthy merchant banker Sir Edward Matherson to rescue deposed African leader President Julius Limbani from a barracks deep inside hostile territory he knows it won't be easy. Once he has recruited the men he needs they head to Swaziland to train. They then fly north and parachute to there target. At first things go well; they quickly eliminate the soldiers based there; silently taking out the sentries with a cross bow then gassing the rest while they slept. It isn't long before they are at the airport with Limbani waiting for the plane to return to pick them up... this is where the action really starts; Matherson has made a new deal and no longer needs Limbani so the plane abandons them to their fate. Trapped deep inside hostile territory with enemy forces fast approaching they must quickly decide what to do. The initial plan is to drive south into Limbani's tribal heartland to try to raise a revolution but that looks unlikely when their transport is destroyed and many of them are killed... the will just have to find a alternate way out of the country and once out Falkner will make sure somebody pays for all those bodies left littering Africa! If you want a proper 'Boy's Own' adventure this is it; the first hour nicely introduces all the main characters as well as Falkner there is Rafer Janders, the planner; Shawn Flynn, a pilot; Pieter Coetzee, an Afrikaner who just wants to earn enough to buy a farm back home; Sandy Young, the RSM and Witty, the camp (in more ways than one) medic. Once the action starts it is almost none stop and it soon becomes clear that it isn't just nameless background characters that are going to die; characters we've grown to care about die too. This leads to a genuinely tear-jerking moment towards the end when Falkner will have to make the hardest decision imaginable. The cast is loaded with star names: Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore and Hardy Krüger but it isn't the sort of 'all star' film where well known stars just take turns to show off a bit; they all do great jobs as do the other, less well known, actors. The action looks believable, which shouldn't be too surprising given that famous mercenary 'Mad Mike' Hoare acted as an adviser and many of the cast had seen military service during the war. Some may find this a little bit non-PC as the openly gay medic is distinctly camp and Coetzee constantly calls Limbani 'kaffir'; this misses the point though Witty may be a camp stereotype but the men accept him for who he is and he is a heroic character who doesn't shirk from the fight and Coetzee grows to become more moderate as he gets to know Limbani and acknowledges that he doesn't understand the politics of his own country. Overall if you are looking for a good solid action flick you could do a lot worse than this.