Too Late the Hero

TLTH is a solid war movie made in a time devoid of Tom Cruises, Di Crapios and other mattodamonic Bennaffleckians. Caine and Robertson look like men, not wimpy little effeminate preppies which we're served and rammed down our throats en masse nowadays. Michael Caine participated in the Korean war as a soldier, while Denholm Elliot spent several years as a Japanese P.O.W. in WW II; what's the toughest ordeal Casey Affleck ever had to go through? A broken nail? And it partially shows on screen, of course.

The main drawback is the length; I saw no reason for this plot to use up over 2 hours of screen time. A minor problem was the occasional mumbling.

One of the things I liked here is that there was a more realistic way of looking at World War II. In recent decades we've had U.S. liberals and other clueless Leftists tell us how "valid" and "noble" that war was, as opposed to other wars that came later, that were supposedly totally immoral, unclean, nasty and vile. However, there is no such thing as a "pure" or "sanitized" war. The lack of discipline, morality and even courage among some of the British troops in this film is a refreshing break from the kind of silly over-glorification of WW II - especially the way this stands in contrast to the over-vilification of wars fought by America in the decades after that.

Judging by Caine's memories (from his autobiography) related to filming TLTH, a documentary on the making of the film would have been fascinating to watch.

This taut war film is set during spring 1942 WWII, a superior officer(Henry Fonda) assigns a reluctant American lieutenant (Clift Robertson) a dangerous mission in island of New Hebridas . At the island of Pacific , British military rule over the South region, while Japanese govern the North part . The goal of US Navy turns out to be the occupying the Japanese zone . For getting the objective is necessary destroying a radio station from Japanese . The lieutenant goes to the regiment commanded by a colonel (Harry Andrews) joining forces for participate the suicidal mission . It's formed a commando under orders a captain (Denholm Elliott) and a motley gang of soldiers released after fall of Singapur , as a tough sergeant (Percy Herbert who was actually a prisoner of the Japanese Army in The Second World War) , a mad soldier (Ian Bannen), a despicable private (Ronald Frazer) , among them.

This exciting war movie contains thrills , noisy action , rousing adventure , tension , lots of violence and twists and turns . Well made plot is based on a story by Robert Sherman and the same director Robert Aldrich . The powerful Aldrich camera crams in as much shock impact as possible . The picture kept afloat by the skills of their all-star cast formed by largely British actors . Michael Caine as a cynical soldier sustains and compels interest by careful concentration on his acting with cockney accent . Clift Robertson as lieutenant avoiding patriotism , gives a good performance , as always . There're strong portrayals by Ronald Fraser as a rogue private and Ken Takakura as Japanese officer . Thrilling and suspenseful musical score by musician Gerard Fried, Stanley Kubrik's usual . Nice cinematography by Joseph Biroc reflecting appropriately the lush jungle . Tense and brilliant direction by Robert Aldrich , a warlike (Dirty Dozen,Attack) and Western (Ulzana's raid , Apache , Veracruz) expert . It's a must see and a standout in its genre .

Too Late the Hero is a cynical war adventure with a set of rather unsavoury, antagonistic characters caught in an unforgiving, hot environment where they risk being embushed at any time by Japanese soldiers. It manages to stay interesting for two hours until building up into a fabulous, exciting finale. Not a big soldiers action film like The Dirty Dozen or Platoon, Too Late the Hero is nevertheless my favourite of the genre, although it took a couple of watchings to appreciate the simple, yet original, intelligent plot development, the realistic, yet interesting and even at times amusing dialogue and characters (for instance, Caine telling Robertson in his cockney accent: "now what's got you jumping about like a frog with a bullet up his ass..") and the suspenseful and well-made action sequences. It is not always easy for this kind of film to retain a kind of unsentimental realism and be entertaining at the same time. Yet, Too Late the Hero does it. While they are not particularly sympathetic characters (there are none in the film, except maybe for the Japanese major), Cliff Robertson and Michael Caine manage to become likeable anti-heroes in their own way, each giving excellent performances; American Robertson wondering what the hell he is doing among a rough bunch of Brits fighting the Japanese on a Pacific island until he decides to find his destiny as a hero, and Caine as a brash, cynical, rude, insubordinate and altogether hilarious cockney, mainly concerned about saving his skin. Too Late the Hero does not dwell into making an elaborate anti-war statement. It takes for granted that war is hell and any sane man would just worry about surviving like Caine, Robertson or most of the other soldiers on an increasingly suicidal mission - not as the leader of the group, brilliantly played by Denholm Elliott, who appears suspect and foolish for trying to maintain traditional combat values and discipline. The interactions between Robertson and his unfriendly British companions add to the interest and credibility of the film, while the unusual chase through the jungle and its exciting conclusion contribute to its originality. Not the best war film ever, but a unique one.

Film Makers in Hollywood weren`t allowed to make anti-vietnam war films in the late 60`s , early 70`s so they decided to make allegories instead. Famous examples are MASH and SOLDIER BLUE. What strikes me is that no one ever refers to this great war film as the definitive Hollywood proxy Nam statement.

The story is simple : Soldiers carry out dangerous mission. But these soldiers are badly led and totally reluctant to carry out their duty. They`d rather " frag " their commander and go home than earn medals . And war isn`t shown as a glorious thing , it`s brutal , dehumanising and most of all terrifying. Also watch out for the very humane portrayal of the enemy officer. Is it sympathy for the Japanese or the Vietnamese that he`s shown this way ?

I could point out all the things I love about this film but it`d take too long. The only two things I disliked about TOO LATE THE HERO was a couple of plot holes. First one`s the fact that the Japanese are good at stopping the enemy from escaping the jungle but are totally hopeless at letting them enter it in the first place ! A major strategic mistake I`d have thought. Secondly Lawson decides he wants to carry out his mission after all which turns him into a bit of a cliche. But don`t let that put you off. TOO LATE THE HERO is compelling , bloody and intelligent.

TOO LATE THE HERO is a top notch war film about a british unit plus one american who must destroy a japanese communications station on a island. The mission for all purposes is impossible. TOO LATE THE HERO is long in a few spots, yet the film overcomes this flaw and the pace flows smoothly again. The film has a gritty realism to it which is aided by the deep jungle locations the film was shot at. Fans of FARWELL TO THE KING will enjoy this film as well, as it is up the same alley as that Nick Nolte film. OOne thing I enjoyed about this film were the casualty levels on the japanese and allied sides; these were were very realistic.