The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985)

News has got out that a senior German general is planning to kill Hitler; one would expect the Allies to be pleased but it is feared that the war could drag on for years if Hitler were to be replaced by a competent general. It is known that the general will be on a train in France soon so a mission to assassinate him is planned. As in the original film Major John Reisman is called in and ordered to assemble another team of military criminals facing death or long sentences. They spend a little while training before heading to France where things don't quite go according to plan.'The Dirty Dozen' was a great Boy's Own style war film full of well-known actors and lots of spectacular action… this is not 'The Dirty Dozen'. In many ways it is trying to replicate the success of the original but sadly fails; not enough time is spent on the training/team bonding so it is hard for the viewer to care about this team. The mission itself more far-fetched; it starts with them flying into a German airfield in a Dakota that is painted in German colour and have a shootout with the Germans. When they realise the train has gone they somehow get back on the Dakota and parachute to a site near the train without any explanation of how they got to the plane or how they could successfully jump without parachute training. The ultimate shootout is exciting enough in a televisual way but nowhere near as good as the finale of the original film. On the plus side Lee Marvin is still pretty good as Reisman even though this was made almost twenty years after the original film. Overall I wouldn't call this a must see film but if like me you get the original on DVD that includes this as a bonus feature it is worth watching… although the fact that it is hidden amongst the extras rather than sold as a two-film box says a fair bit.

The original The Dirty Dozen had Lee Marvin and his jail house crew on a mission that took place inside occupied France days before the D-Day invasion at Normandy. The mission this second trained dozen performs is a few months later.A few months in World War II time, but unfortunately 18 years for the returning cast members from the original cast, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Richard Jaeckel. They've all aged considerably and sad to say it shows. Especially on Marvin. Due to health problems, Lee Marvin's cinema appearances were cut down considerably during the Eighties. Still Marvin's the same maverick Major Reisman as before. Not too much time is devoted to the training as in the original because that's where we got to know some of the dozen as individuals.The new group is a rather faceless and personalityless lot. None of them stand out in the way that John Cassavetes, Clint Walker, Donald Sutherland, or Telly Savalas did. Of course they were all killed so we couldn't bring them back. Just as well for the producers because those salaries in 1985 would have busted the budget.Still this talented group of players put over an extremely preposterous story back in 1967. This story is more preposterous and it doesn't have the talent to back it up and put it over.Would you believe that the army wants to assassinate S.S. General Sepp Dietrich because they think he might be looking to assassinate Hitler? I didn't think anyone would, I sure didn't. I'd really stick with the original here.

I recommend purchasing the double feature DVD set of the original Dirty Dozen and it's 1985 made for television sequel Dirty Dozen: The Next Misssion. It's a very entertaining package that also includes a documentary on the making of The Dirty Dozen and documentary on the real life Filthy Thirteen. My favorite part of the set is Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission. It's cartoony yet infinitely re-watchable and highly entertaining if you don't take it seriously. The two other Dirty Dozen sequels are also available in a double feature DVD package. All three sequels have plenty of humor and action. They are a great way to spend a few hours kicking back with a quality beverage. Give the Dirty Dozen double feature DVDs a spin.

According to an article written many years ago, the original "The Dirty Dozen" novel was actually based on real life story. US military convicts were offered pardon in exchange for similar suicide missions in Nazi occupied France. They agreed, but after the drop they turned their tails and spent the rest of the war in neutral Spain. In real life, use of pardoned convicts as soldiers is rather common phenomena, as experiences in former Yugoslavia indicate. In WWII Red Army and Wehrmacht employed such practice. The operation that actually resembles this movie the most was conducted by Germans. In May of 1944, frustrated with unsuccessful attempts to chase down and destroy the core formations of Yugoslav Partisans, German High Command planned the daring parachute raid on the headquarters of Partisan leader Tito and trained entire battalion of convicts for that very purpose. At the end of the day, Tito, although initially surprised, managed to get away and the convict paratroopers, decimated in a hellatious battle, took only Tito's freshly tailored Field Marshall uniform as their only trophy.