Sadly Over-hyped

Crappy film

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's difficult to rate this movie. I watched after reading the reviews and it seems that many people didn't like it.The original movie "The Dirty Dozen" was released in 1967. This sequel was attempted 21 years later (1988) with less money and less stars. Lee Marvin died in 1987. Charles Bronson was 67 at the time and didn't participate. Telly Savalas was 66.The original movie was produced by Robert Aldrich. The 1988 sequel by Mel Swope who is known for Fame and Miami Vice.This movie takes the same ingredients without bringing in any element of originality. The net result is an average war movie. I found that the second part was much better than the first but eventually the whole thing is weak. For a war movie, you need a lot of FX to create credible scenery, explosions and historical reconstitution. Entertaining but not memorable.

During the Second World war, allied intelligence discovers that 12 top Nazis are to be sent to the Balkans to form a fourth Reich. Major Wright(Telly Savalas)is ordered to assemble a 12 man killing machine known as the "dozen" to attack the train on which the Nazis are travelling and wipe them out...Fatal Mission is the final of the 3 made-for-TV movies which were all spinoffs of Robert Aldrich's 1967 actioner. Immensely entertaining with a skinny plot, Fatal Mission is one of the fast food war movies. You can enjoy this film at any time without taxing your brain cells and it's only an hour and a half. The script is about as cheesy as it gets which will make the movie seem to some like a corny rehash of the 1967 original. In a way this is true, but I wasn't bothered by it at all. Some of the dialogue from the original has been copied and pasted straight into this movie, Lee Marvin's "foul up" speech is repeated word for word by Telly Savalas. The action scenes failed to disappoint with thrilling stunts and impressive special effects. The action builds to a spectacularly explosive finale which looks almost too professional for a TV movie. The cast was okay, Telly was the best part of it. The other actors who made up the dozen were forgettable. However, Telly was pushing 70 when he made this movie and is amazingly versatile. He blisters with plenty of that Kojak-esque charisma that had helped make him an international star. His glory days had come to an end and he spent his last years doing TV and movies like this, but his affecting personality and exuberance would never die.An exciting action flick that delivers an hour and a half of sturdy fun with some unintentional humour. A tired cast headed by Telly Savalas is another bonus. 9/10.

It stole 3 hours of my life. Yes I know the movie only lasted an hour and half but it seemed like 3 hours.I am one of those people that like war movies. I liked the original Dirty Dozen and similar movies. But this one is sad as any I have ever seen. It was like watching a Community Stage production of the original Dirty Dozen with limited funds for the project.The movie goes far beyond the portrayal of Germans as buffoons. When the American's jump on a train the Germans are so inept they they cannot guess the next town the train will be arriving. There are laughable scenes that actually was filmed as serious drama. There are lighter scenes that appear to be meant as serious. Just a poor film all around.Pass this movie and re-watch the original.

the Germans all stand out in the open and get mowed down with a machine gun. the Good guys never die, unless its for dramatic purposes. the "plot" has so many holes its laughable. (Where did the German soldiers go once they rolled the fuel tank towards the train? Erik Estrada? Please!) And the whole idea, hijacking a train? How moronic is that! The Germans KNOW where you are going to go, its not like you can leave the track and drive away! What a waste. I would rather bonk myself on the head with a ball peen hammer 10 times then have to sit through that again. I mean, seriously, it FELT like it was made in the 60s, but it was produced in 88!! 1988!! the A-Team is more believable than this horrid excuse for a movie. Only watch it if you need a good laugh. This movie is to Tele Sevalas what Green Beret was to John Wayne.