Phil Karlson's Hornets' Nest is an bizarre, offbeat WWII effort that is best described as The Dirty Dozen starring the Dead End Kids. The film is centered around Captain Turner, an American Army officer whose been tasked with parachuting into the Italian town of Reanoto, with his mission being to destroy a dam which the Nazi's are using strategically. Upon landing, Captain Turner and his men find themselves attacked by the German forces, with Turner being the lone survivor once the dust settles. Rescued by a group of Italian boys, who are the only ones to survive the slaughter of their town by the Nazis, Turner strikes up a deal with the local youth - if they help him take out the damn, he will help them get revenge on the Germans responsible for the slaughter of their parents. Phil Karlson's Hornets' Next is an overlong and tedious film that overstays its welcome in delivering one of the most fascinating, albeit offbeat examinations of the effects of War on man. Hornets' Nest is a film that feels almost in conflict with itself, being a film that takes a lot of glee in the heavy dose of carnage it provides while simultaneously deconstructing the effect war has on man. Karlson's main message seems to be related to capturing the toxic effect war has on the human psyche, with nearly every character, from the somewhat unlikable Captain Turner, who himself is abusive and mean-spirited, to the various youth, each who has become intoxicated with their desire for revenge. Aldo, the leader of this group of ragtag youth, is the central character which the film uses to deconstruct the effects of war on man, being a character whose anger and hate for the Nazi's has become borderline psychotic. The performance of Mark Colleano as Aldo is electric but also over-the-top, being a character who has essentially developed a blood lust for death after the loss of his parents, something which Captain Turner realizes he must suppress towards the end of the film. Hornets' Nest has a rather simplistic, straight-forward story, so it's a little frustrating how overlong the film is, considering there are a host of scenes which add little to the overall arch and themes of the story. Karlson's direction is effective as well, with the finale which finds these young men and Captain Turner successfully destroying the Damn. While it's not quite Rififi, ,Karlson shoots the infiltration sequence in complete silence, an effective sequence that really ramps up the suspense and tension of this mission. A forgotten oddity of the World War II genre, Phil Karlson's Hornets' Nest is a deeply flawed and endlessly fascinating film about the intoxicating effect which war and violence can have on man.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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