Destinados a Morrer

Recently watched this film after not seeing it for many years and it brought back many memories. I was stationed on the AFSOUTH NATO base at the time and the camera crews were there a few days doing exterior shots of the cast in some scenes. It was strange seeing this as I had just arrived there not long before and was even stranger to see the finished film at the base theater after it was released. Every time a scene would pop up showing the base or other recognizable spots (like the Navy Exchange at the climax) the audience would cheer. Not one of the best thrillers I'd seen but they did an adequate job for what it was probably budgeted for. I agree with some of the review that the cast seemed to be miscast (Kennedy never came across to me as the sort of actor that would be the lead in a film) and a bit long in the tooth. Overall everyone I knew enjoyed it but thought it could have been better. Sophia Loren also did scenes on the base in another film though it was filmed when I was not there and I'm sorry to say I can't recall it's title - though I think it was about her helping an orphaned girl.

"The Human Factor" is a typical revenge movie in the wake of "Dirty Harry", "Death Wish" and "Straw Dogs" with an American special agent and computer specialist in Italy losing his family by a terrorist's assault at his home and taking bloody revenge.

This British-Italian co-production from 1975 contains many typical subplots of the seventies - conspiracy movies, secret agent films, left-winged political terrorism, high-tech-computers and revenge dramas. George Kennedy plays the hero and does a good job as hard-edged, desperate family father turning to a merciless killer, although he is no Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson. Especially in a long hunting scene overweight Kennedy seems to be very out of breath...

The scripts lacks a bit of logic sometimes, as the real motivation of the terrorist group is never really explained, but all in all the film keeps the action, thrills and suspense always going and adds some very scary moments and furious action sequences, especially the big showdown in a supermarket. Ennio Morricone's sound tracks puts even more thrills and atmosphere to this dark political thriller that can be seen as a "sleeper" for fans of seventies' hardcore action cinema. Recommended!

It's fun to see George Kennedy in this kind of a role as a grieving father out for revenge. I've mostly only seen him in westerns up until now. Raf Vallone was excellent as the Inspector and always a pleasure to watch. The plot is pretty straightforward stuff so there's very little mystery to be had here.

Good soundtrack. Good action sequences toward the end (you have to wait for them).

The most interesting part was how old school and all-knowing the computers are in this film. Literally, the characters are physically connecting telephones to large computer machines in order to send and receive green text on a black screen, and they take everything the computer says as gospel. Lol. Those were different times.

A British suspense-thriller; A story about a middle-aged NATO electronics expert who aims to track down the killers of his family, aided by a colleague and access to an early version of the internet. This film, based on a novel by Simon Quinn, has a theme about how blood vengeance consumes to the point of self-destruction. The film has conviction and carries a modicum of suspense. George Kennedy's arresting performance as a middle-aged nerd, an everyman, hulking around Campania and Lazio like an out-of-control ox, lends a touch of realism to his scenes of lex talionis but it means the emotional cards fail to stack fully in his favour. Ennio Morricone's score responds with just the right emotional tone throughout.

When I first saw this movie, I was only 9 years old. The movies idea, losing one's entire family to terrorists, haunted me for years. George Kennedy's strong portrayl of a father who is obsessed about tracking down the killers of his family, can easily be outdone by newer more daring plots. For it's time though, The Human Factor was 'on the edge of your seat' suspense that left you with a weary, empty feeling when the movie was over. Although dated, I feel it can still create an emotional response for someone who looks for more than special effects in a picture. Too bad it is out of print.