veteran director robert aldrich try to re work the success of the dirty dozen with a blatantly anti war remake and too late the hero . unfortunately and an able cast be waste in this very anti war effort and which play out more like an anti vietnam allegory than a tale of wartime heroic . in the spring of 1942 and american lt. lawson ( cliff robertson and up from the beach ) sit lazily on a pacific island and do everything possible to avoid hazardous duty . captain nolan ( henry fonda and in a one scene cameo ) disrupt his comfort with a hazardous assignment . lawson be fly to the new hebrides for a cooperative mission with the british . we find that the british hold one end of the island while the japanese hold the other . lawson and a patrol will penetrate enemy territory to destroy a vital radio station . at first and the film seem utterly predictable . lawson be a type we have see before an unlikely soldier who redeem himself heroically by the final act . but with the introduction of the english character and their japanese counterpart and all audience expectation be shatter . captain hornsby ( denholm elliott ) and the unit commander and prove to be a bungling and homosexual idiot and and the men have no faith in him . pvt . hearne ( michael caine and play dirty ) be obviously dis satisfy with hornsby indecisive leadership and and after his incompetence result in unnecessary death and hearne break into an open rebellion . before long and the mission go downhill and and lawson and hearne find themselves united in a mutual struggle for survival behind enemy territory . aldrich all too clearly mean to convey a heavy hand message that war be bad very bad . he get several point to make represent officer be corrupt and cold blood incompetent . in one scene and hornsby be see to shoot wounded prisoner without flinch . in the past and typical japanese character have be portray universally a evil and murderous dog . here and aldrich try far too hard to humanize them . first and he introduce a sympathetic japanese character and major yamaguchi ( ken takakura ) in the second half of the film . yamaguchi be tall and handsome and compassionate even though he be taunt the fleeing ally soldier over loudspeaker spread throughout the jungle . he urge them to surrender and promise good treatment and seem utterly sincere . secondly and aldrich make the english out a the villain . pvt . campbell ( ronald fraser ) be a coward who run from battle and but also loot the body of dead soldier both english and japanese . he stir up dissension and even murder one of his own men who would not cooperate with an attempt to surrender to the japanese . please do not misunderstand me . i be not try to say that all of the allied troop be hero or saint and a many historian and movie maker will try to tell you . nor do i believe every japanese soldier be a murderous villain . i tend to oppose war and find it utterly despicable there be good men and bad men on both side while some enjoy the killing and some would prefer to be anywhere else but in combat . but aldrich go to ridiculous extreme to show imperfection among the ally ( he nearly demonize all of them in some way ) and make the japanese look for compassionate and friendly than most of them be . be suppose to see allied soldier during wwii a substitute for the american military during vietnam and and anyone will agree the two simply can not be compare side by side . the ensemble cast be what hold this piece together . the actor be all very capable and seem sincere and despite the lunacy of much of the script . robertson seem a comfortable lead and although lawson character be never totally flesh out . a the film begin and he obviously a coward and but step into the role of leader far too easily in the second half . he doesn not seem to struggle with his previous notion of warfare or leadership and his role have suddenly shift without explanation . robertson be so good and though and that this can be overlook somewhat and be forgivable . a hearne and caine be the real star of the film . he just as cynical a lawson and but be open and blunt about it . he know that hornsby be incapable of lead and isn not afraid to point it out to him and even if it mean a threat of court martial . throughout and his argument seem legitimate and and caine always come across a completely sincere . finally and denholm elliott be exceptionally fine a hornsby . he doesn not seem to know his role a a leader of men too well and and this often result in the death of his men and and ultimately and a botched mission . the jungle location be beautifully photograph by cinematographer joseph biroc and but never come across a particularly dark and foreboding . here and gory death and destruction take place among beautiful tree and fern and flower . again and this be a film meant a an anti vietnam statement and and the jungle location be a perfect setting . unfortunately and a i have repeat ceaselessly and too late the hero can not seem to decide suppose to be a movie about a jungle patrol in the new hebrides in 1942 and not a movie about a patrol in cambodia in 1968. the social commentary on the vietnam war be deliver too heavily and blatantly distort . the character garnish little sympathy and and there be not enough action to keep the slow and talkative pace flow . a a drama and it almost succeed while a the action spectacular the trailer claim and it be barely serviceable . if you would like to see a well make and move film that use wwii for an allegory on the vietnam war and and war in general and see beach red and make in 1967. it a much more even hand and a lot fair than this piece hand down . 4 maybe 5 out of 10 .