World War II is raging, and an American general has been captured and is being held hostage in the Schloss Adler, a Bavarian castle that's nearly impossible to breach. It's up to a group of skilled Allied soldiers to liberate the general before it's too late.
It may be devoid of significance of any sort, but it is nevertheless passably entertaining, and certainly better viewing than most MacLean adaptations.
– ,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
Alistair MacLean wrote an original screenplay that was treated with respect for the writer's unusual abilities as a master of actionful suspense. The resulting film is highly entertaining, thrilling and rarely lets down for a moment.
– ,
Variety,
26 Dec 2007
rotten:
You have to admire any film that casts Clint Eastwood opposite Richard Burton; the real violence is in the clash of acting styles.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
It is so long (almost three hours) that it may finally bore the very action trade for which it was intended; yet it's just at that point of surface boredom that the movie aficionado will probably become entranced.