A Disappointing Continuation

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Superb movie with brilliant cast. Can't believe this film has been so forgotten. One for people who love classic thrillers.

World War II is over, and the Allies set about cleaning up and helping rebuild Europe. The Allies' most famous battle leader, General George S. Patton, continues to alienate the Russians and doesn't like attending to civil formalities of state. So, he gets canned by Eisenhower and is ordered back to the States. But during all this time, some $250 million in Third Reich gold had been discovered and then went missing. Patton launches his own effort to find the thieves and retrieve the gold. This story line has all the makings of a good action-thriller, and "Brass Target" doesn't disappoint. It has a solid plot – with much conjecture and fiction built around and woven through the real details of Patton's last months. The script is very good for a cast that delivers. There's just enough intrigue to keep us guessing from one scene to the next, as culprits come to light one by one. But amidst this, the one big theme develops – with the hiring of a top assassin to eliminate Patton. There's much more to this, and part of the intrigue for the viewer is wondering what next step in his plan the assassin will lay out and expose to the audience. George Kennedy is excellent as Patton, and Robert Vaughn turns in a first-rate performance in his role. John Cassavetes does justice as the top intelligence officer digging into the theft. Sophia Loren and Patrick McGoohan give very good performances. And the consummate cool and calculating Max von Sydow excels in the type of role he has played before. Some comments I've seen about the film are disparaging because of the fictitious plot. But that's precisely what makes it a movie different from the account of Patton's accidental death otherwise. If people don't like fiction in film, they can avoid movies purposely built around fictitious aspects. Come to think of it, they should probably stop watching all movies. But the rest of us can sit back and really enjoy films like this.

If you take Brass Target as a re-imagination of the situation in post-WWII Europe, similar to "Inglorious Basterds"©, this movie is easier to accept. However, any similarity to "Inglorious Basterds"© ends there. I feel this is a film made due to contractual obligations and maintaining SAG membership. The only reason I ever watched this film is because I was an extra in it, and even actually appear on screen for a second. Other than that, I MAY have been tempted to watch it once by some of the names, in particular Patrick McGoohan and George Kennedy, but other than my own one second of film glory, I wouldn't own it. The plot is completely implausible. I feel the actors make the best of it out of sheer professional pride. Here's a trivia point for you IMDb© keepers out there: Many of the extras are actually U.S. Army personnel recruited from troops serving in Munich at the time the movie was shot.

This movie is above all about officers driving in cars or jeeps, a tenth of the time is spent driving. The story is so flawless that you don't want to see the ending which is ridiculous. The famous actors do a lot trying to save the movie and Shelley (Max von Sydow) is just good as the killer but neither John Cassavetes (Major Joe De Lucca), Sophia Loren (Mara) or Robert Vaughn (Colonel Donald Rogers) can do more than read their lines and try to convince. The scene with Lucky Luciano (Lee Montague) in prison visited by Major De Lucca is artificial and does not fit in this movie. The scene in the hotel with the two MP's is not understandable, how does Colonel Donald Rogers know that Shelley is in there? How can Webber (Shelley as Max von Sydow) enter so easily the military installations as sergeant-major and have a military vehicle at his disposal? The story is full of things that you can't believe. I do not believe that General Patton (Georg Kennedy) was killed with what I have seen in this movie. The actors deserved a better script.