The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission

release year: 1985 made-for-TV
genre: action/adventure
viewing setting: home Bluray, 6/1/13

synopsis: Once again, Major Reisman is tasked with turning a bunch of convicted soldiers into an elite fighting force capable of pulling off a suicide mission.

impressions: On the negative side, this one re-used a lot of elements/scenes from the original, to the point where I stared at the TV screen in disbelief. On the positive side, there were some notable young actors playing some of the soldiers. The mission this time was unusual: assassinate a German general before he can assassinate Hitler (the idea being that by the end of the war, Hitler was actually hurting the German efforts.) Returning from the original, aside from Lee Marvin, were Ernest Borgnine and Richard Jaeckel, all three reprising their earlier roles.

body count: 42

acting: Lee Marvin looks a lot older and sleepier here, which doesn't work so well when he repeats the same lines he used in 1967. Sonny Landham (who played the big Indian in Predator) is one of the more level-headed soldiers here. Ricco Ross (who played Private Frost in Aliens) is a young shiper here. Larry Wilcox (who played Jon in the TV series CHiPs) is a brash young soldier here. Ken Wahl plays a tough soldier from New York. Wolf Kahler (who played the Nazi colonel in Raiders of the Lost Ark) is the Nazi general.

final word: Entertaining, but also largely cloned; worth seeing.

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