The Professionals

release year: 1966
genre: action/adventure
viewing setting: home Bluray, 6/2/13 and home laserdisc 7/2/98

synopsis: A train millionaire's wife is kidnapped by a Mexican bandit, so he hires four men of action to go get her back.

impressions: This movie was recommended by The Guide to Manly Movies so I had to check it out. Sure enough, it was full of manly-men doing manly things. Lee Marvin...Burt Lancaster...Robert Ryan...Woody Strode...Jack Palance. It was how the west was won. And it had a lot of good quotes and situations. It also had a couple of plot twists I didn't see coming. Overall, it was a thoroughly entertaining and action-packed western.

body count: 41

acting: Lee Marvin is the leader, who's dealt with the bandits in the past. Burt Lancaster is the flippant ladies' man and explosives expert. Woody Strode is the scout and archer. Robert Ryan is the...horse wrangler? (seriously, I didn't really see what essential skill set he brought to the mission.) Jack Palance is the evil bandit chief. Claudia Cardinale is the gorgeous kidnapping victim.

final word: Worth seeing for western fans, but you need to pay attention to catch all the plot and quotes.

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