Overrated and overhyped

How sad is this?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

For me there are a couple of problems with this film, although over-all I enjoyed it.Problem #1: Someone needed to punch Burt Lancaster right in the mouth and knock those teeth out. I was sooooooooooo tired of watching him with a stupid grin. There are times in films, particularly earlier films, when Lancaster over-acted...as he does occasionally here.Problem #2: Every film ought to have a good guy. This film really does not. Burt Lancaster is the bad guy...sort of. Gary Cooper is not the good guy...just sort of a not-so-bad guy. Despite this, I actually think this is a very good performance by Cooper, although there seems to be little connection of his character to being in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. But, aside from that, it's a well modulated performance.On the other hand, the plot is fairly decent, and -- at least somewhat consistent with history. For example, George Macready does a very nice job as real-life Emperor Maximilian. His real story is interesting to read...which you can do fairly quickly on Wikipedia. Two other actors that often over-acted were rather controlled here -- Ernest Borgnine and Jack Elam. Cesar Romero is good in his role, although he doesn't benefit from many good scenes.Worth mentioning is that the film was shot on location, and some of the setting are wonderful! Good that it's in color, but the print shown on TCM certainly could be restored! Gary Cooper was 53 when he made this film. His age wore well on him. His later performances nicely played. It's a good film...just not great.

An interesting "western". Not really a western in the traditional sense in that it isn't set in the US, but in Mexico, and the "cowboys" are really mercenaries, hired by the opposing sides in the Mexican war of 1866.On that note, the movie is quite interesting from an historical perspective, in that it deals with the relatively unknown Franco- Mexican War of 1866.Good plot, using some of the actual characters from history (Emperor Maximilian, for one).Solid performances from Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster in the lead roles. It was a sort of changing of the guard, as Gary Cooper's career was past its peak, and Lancaster's was taking off. Also features some later stars in early-careers: Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson. Neither are particularly good (though Bronson never was much good, acting-wise).Entertaining.

In a time when Westerns were dominated by John Wayne and his moralistic, conservative and boring characters, the Western genre was rarely not boring. I always thought it was thanks to the Italian ('Spaghetti') Westerns that this all changed, but it actually began earlier.'Vera Cruz' is a rare non-moralistic American western; instead of the goody two-shoes Wayne rip-offs, it is filled with morally ambiguous characters. Ben Trane (Gary Cooper), a former Confederate soldier, and Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster), an outlaw, are just two of many who go to Mexico to fight in their revolution; but rather than helping the rebels free their country, they strike a deal with Emperor Maximilian to escort a countess all the way to Vera Cruz. That is what made the Italian Westerns so good. The characters are fighting not for an idealistic protection of 'freedom' or whatever John Wayne would have used to justify it, but for pure gold and money. They fight for themselves, and themselves ONLY, no matter if their side is 'right' or 'wrong'. They are not above double-crossing others, even their 'friends', to help themselves.And believe me, there is a lot of double-crossing going around here.The casting is very good; Lancaster tends to be irritating with the way he keeps smiling and showing his teeth all the time, but acts well and Cooper is terrific as always. The supporting cast, with includes a equally terrific Cesar Romero and the then-unknowns Charles Bronson and Ernest Borgnine, is very good. The actors all actually look their part, another characteristic Italian westerns got from here.Unlike them, though, 'Vera Cruz' is not slow. It does not take its time to bask in the excellent scenery (which is as good as those of some Sergio Leone's films, for example), and moves toward the action every time its possible. For its time, it's surprisingly violent and realistically so; again, not like Wayne's westerns.An excellent western that influenced the Italian ones from the decade after, 'Vera Cruz' is exactly what American westerns should have been. It still needed a bit more polishing, something Sergio Leone and his contemporaries did masterfully, but it is still one of the best westerns I've ever seen.

I had a junior high school teacher once, Mr. MacGowan, who asked us to list the qualities a man should have. Others quickly piped up with "tough," "strong," "fearless," the usual. But when I said "smart," I faced open opposition. Old Mr. MacGowan, though, nodded and wrote it on the blackboard. "Vera Cruz" illustrates the point, being smart beats being tough any day.This is a terrific film about Maximilian Mexico. Featuring Gary Cooper at his most laconic and Burt Lancaster at his most engaging, along with a wonderful supporting cast, this is one of the classic westerns that any fan of the genre or of the stars should see.As usual in Maximilian films ("Undefeated," "Indio Black"), there's gold at stake, and everyone wants it. This film, though, has a humanity that the other films (and, in fact, most westerns) completely lack. Everybody - and I do mean everybody - is plotting and scheming and figuring who they absolutely have to cut in and who they safely can cut out, like an old-fashioned "Survivor." It's all sleazy in a good way. Everybody tries to outsmart everybody else, but in the end, one of them is smarter than them all and makes the only decision about the gold that makes sense.Which isn't to say that everything in the script is original. Cooper plays the usual western loner who comes in and alters everybody's destiny, blazing a path for Clint Eastwood a decade later. Lancaster plays the usual local gang leader who sees the newcomer as both a new challenge and an opportunity. How they resolve their varying motivations and influence on each other, and acknowledge their temporary usefulness to each other, forms the core of the tale.The most interesting and, indeed, idiosyncratic moment comes when the two dusty outsiders meet the Emperor, played marvelously (as always) by George "Paths of Glory" Macready, at his fancy court. The two gunmen and the Emperor have a shooting competition at which the Emperor actually does quite well, though of course he ultimately loses. It's a marvelous moment, with the setting quite European but Cooper and Lancaster wandering in and chewing as much scenery as they can. Cesar Romero overplays the Emperor's grinning henchman as only he could, the effect of his natural exuberance heightened by the comparison with the tightly restrained Cooper, Lancaster and Macready.There's an engaging story to tell, and it actually follows real events remarkably closely. Denise Darcel and Sara Montiel are around to look beautiful, and Ernest Borgnine has a good moment or two. Even Charles Bronson shows up to uphold the "tough guy" standard. But all along you know who has to win in the end, who has to get the gold, and how it all must end. Even with the lack of surprise, it makes for a terrific ride.