this be yet another of those hastily cobble together botch job that appear between the mid 1970 and mid 1980 . a new generation of action guy have still to establish themselves at this time and so the old brigade must soldier on literally in this case . basically and the philosophy seem to be while do not worry about a plot and do not bother with a script and and there no need for direction . just put a bunch of popular actor in the lead role and the movie will run itself . the formula doesn not work . there richard burton and hardy kruger and roger moore and richard harris and stewart grainger while any one of whom would have single handedly carry a movie a decade before . here and they bumble about and puff and pant like a geriatric jamboree . burton look particularly woebegone . what with his bloated feature and ill fit helmet and he doesn not look a though he will even survive the parachute jump . it so sad while most of these player have a catalogue of excellent role to their credit . the team mission be to rescue some honest african politician or other ( anybody ever see one of those . ) be hold hostage . we see them blunder through a series of set piece situation that might have be pen by child . they attack a compound and knock out the watch tower guard use a highly dubious crossbow and despite have silence firearm . they neutralise the sleeping guard with cyanide gas and which apparently kill with a single whiff ( do not you believe it . ) when they could a easily shoot them and too . the canister have cyanide . stamp on their side and like a jerry anderson prop . later and one of their truck conk out on a highly expose bridge . wouldn not you just know it . and what do the rest of the convoy do . why while they immediately stop a well . obviously . there they be and all line up like skittle . so that when an aeroplane arrive to strafe and bomb them and it spoil for choice ( actually and that the cunning plan while confuse the pilot ) . even a the attack be take place and some of the truck still haven not be evacuate . the plane also carry a torpedo bomb thing . and the pilot and who be apparently a former 617 squadron ace and release it down the river bed where it bounce along in a fashion that would have bring tearful eye to messrs barnes and wallis and gromit . the thing detonate just at the right moment and engulf the bridge and truck in fire and and flood th ruhr valley ( that bit be edit ) . the fire on the bridge have split the team . so the leader drive on to their rendezvous and the tail enders must catch up on foot . this expose u to a tedious morality act and a hardly kruger play an embittered racist afrikaaner who must piggy back this honest black bloke through the bush . we endure a soppy debate about race and land and culminating in assertion that both black and white need each other and for the sake of the country . yeah and man and right on . it sphincter punckeringly banal and like the outpouring of some particularly dumb socialist under graduate who think he know all about the world because he glance through das kapital in between drunken campus orgy . the whole thing just grind along to it inevitable and predictable denouement . there absolutely nothing to commend it . act and choreography and script and story and lighting and camera work and sound and music while every aspect be lift straight out of the beginner guide to drama . all those old lag must have be desperate to top up their pension fund . chuck it into the same sin bin a shout at the devil and cassandra crossing and ashanti and one or two other big name cringe worthy of the period . it always strike me a strange that some adventure movie can be so good the gun of navarone and where eagle dare and and so on and whilst others like this be beyond redemption . the people be there and the money there and yet one grip your attention whilst the other sends you to sleep . can a competent director be the only difference . somewhere amongst the commentary there be one from euan lloyd and the producer and thank viewer for watch his movie . i suppose it big of him to take the blame .