Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Leofwine_draca THE PROFESSIONALS is a decent, old-fashioned western with a good feel to it. It's one of those men-on-a-mission type films in which four renowned gunfighters (who are each introduced in an effective pre-credits sequence) are sent to aid a man whose wife has been kidnapped by Mexican bandits. What follows is a suspense-filled adventure as the quartet find themselves up against a huge gang of well-armed men and must come up with an explosive plan to rescue the woman.Films like THE PROFESSIONALS seem to have their own effortless charm that make them somewhat immortal in the annals of cinema. Certainly this is a vibrant, colourful adventure and it's easy to sit back and enjoy the suspense-fuelled sequences. Plus, you're in the company of the great old-time actors, another factor in the movie's favour. The ubiquitous Lee Marvin stars alongside Burt Lancaster, with the underrated Robert Ryan and Woody Strode in support. The stock villain role is given over to the one-of-a-kind Jack Palance.THE PROFESSIONALS was shot in Mexico in some fine mountainous locations so it's something of a visual feast. The long infiltration sequence in the middle of the film is a masterclass in tension, a tension that is successfully carried through until the climax. There are the requisite twists and turns in the plot, alongside well-directed action and the ample charms of both Claudia Cardinale and Maria Gomez. In essence, there's nothing to dislike about a film that is both watchable and a thoroughly human viewing experience.

TheLittleSongbird A great amount of talent on display in The Professionals and mostly very well used. It is a shame that Robert Ryan's role is so underwritten and he looked as lost as he did in a somewhat atypical role(this is the same Robert Ryan who made an unforgettable villain in Claggart in 1962's Billy Budd). For my liking too the film ends a little too tidily with some of the scripting a tad confused. But The Professionals is superbly made with sweeping photography that makes expansive use of the colourfully exotic locations and a lusciously evocative score from none other than Maurice Jarre, cannot get enough of the spine chilling opening sequence. The script crackles with wit and tension and is remarkably quotable(it was nominated for a Oscar and in my opinion was deserving of the nomination), the action is rousingly staged and the story, apart from a couple of plodding moments in the middle, is a vast majority of the time gripping. It was great also to see characters that were likable as well as flawed rather than resorting too much to one-dimensional stereotypes. The Professionals is expertly directed- some of the best direction of any Western not from John Ford, Sam Pekinpah or Sergio Leone names on them. And expertly acted as well, with Burt Lancaster on blisteringly funny form and Jack Palance as a slightly hammy but entertainingly menacing villain standing out, their scene on the rocks being an acting highlight. Lee Marvin gives a brooding performance without ever being one-note- every inch the figure of authority- and Claudia Cardinale looks gorgeous and involved. Ralph Bellamy is also excellent, his character's development is sketchy but he does somehow manage to make him interesting and compelling. All in all, a fine film that is sadly somewhat under-seen, the word professional for this near-classic is very apt. 8/10 Bethany Cox

GUENOT PHILIPPE One more classic upon classics that I watched some decades ago, and also a film I have never been so fond of. I watched it again today, and my feelings are still the very same. Nothing to do with THE WILD BUNCH, even if it takes place in Mexico at the turn of the twentieth century, as did the Peckinpah's film. OK Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode and Jack Palance worth the watching of this action packed western, but it isn't enough for me. The directing is fine, but really I don't intend to see it again before a long time now. One more thing I'd like to add, something the other users seem not have pointed out. This film, as did THE SAND PEEBLES - shot one year later - are some sort of messages to illustrate the American interventionism in Vietnam. In Bob Wise's film, we see US troops fighting in 1924 China, supporting Nationalists troops against the Communists ones...And in the Brook's film, a bunch of US mercenaries are recruited to "save" a woman, kidnapped from her husband, and who finally prefers the presence of her abductor: Jack Palance...See where I am driving at?

bobsgrock Though not as perceptively grim in tone and style as Sam Peckinpah's epitaph The Wild Bunch, Richard Brook's The Professionals almost certainly inspired the former and was also one of the last great westerns Hollywood ever produced. Made at a time when the 'classical' era was waning, Brooks went entirely nostalgic, creating a story about John Wayne-like characters completely loyal to their cause but also flawed in many ways.The cast is superb. The exotic beauty of Claudia Cardinale is great fodder for the main cast of Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode. Although Ryan and Strode have considerably less screen time, the relationship between Lancaster and Marvin is terrifically fleshed out along with Brooks' steady hand guiding the entire process of four men on the hunt to rescue a millionaire's kidnapped wife only to realize all is not as it seems. Despite the fact that this film will forever be compared to the ones it inspired like The Wild Bunch or The Dirty Dozen, it should be admired on its own terms. It is a very entertaining and satisfying film with solid writing, acting, directing and editing along with some stunning cinematography of the American southwest. Compared to today's films, who could ask for anything more?