Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Best known for the TV series 'Mission: Impossible' at the time, Peter Graves is similarly in charge of a mission here: rob half a million in gold from a heavily fortified / guarded train. This currency will go towards funding the revolutionaries during the time of the Mexican revolution. Of course, "The Dutchman" (Graves) will need to assemble some men for the mission. They will include a strongman (Bud Spencer), a gambler / explosives expert (James Daly), a samurai (Tetsuro Tanba), and a former circus acrobat (Nino Castelnuovo).While "The 5-Man Army" isn't always that credible (uh, they should be able to *see* you guys hiding under the train, for one thing), it has a wonderful spirit of adventure and excitement. Wonderfully shot by Enzo Barboni, it has just about everything: a good sense of humor, some genuine poignancy, a fair amount of tension, and well executed action. As you can expect, the climactic train robbery doesn't go that smoothly. One of the men will fall off the train, and have to haul ass across the country in order to get back on. And Daly will drop some of his supplies along the way. Some people may feel that the film is too lacking in story, but it shows its audience a good enough time that it doesn't matter all that much. The screenplay is credited to Marc Richards and future director Dario Argento, who actually did some work on this film, and who would make his official debut with "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" the following year. Although American filmmaker Don Taylor ("Escape from the Planet of the Apes", "The Final Countdown"), a former actor, is given sole credit as director, lovely co-star Daniela Giordano maintains that producer Italo Zingarelli was responsible for much of that task. Composer Ennio Morricone once again displays great talent by coming up with an effectively rousing score. It may not be destined for iconic status, like some of his other work, but it's still enjoyable to listen to.This eclectic team at the heart of the picture is really fun to watch. Graves handles himself with style. Daly has one memorable speech where he feels that he and his comrades won't survive the mission. Spencer is quite amusing, and gets to show off a truly healthy appetite. Young Castelnuovo is a delight as the mouthy Luiz. And Tanba never gets to say much, but he doesn't have to. He still has an effective presence on screen.Highly charged entertainment, with a truly uplifting ending.Eight out of 10.

Fantastic film that might shock a few spaghetti western fans. The shock? Peter Graves in a 1970 spaghetti western! Graves is his usual self,great voice,intense and even a bit light hearted at times. Terrence Hill co- hort ,Bud Spencer,a legend in the genre,plays his normal role as a tough but lovable brute of a man. This film is sort of a "Magnificent Seven" but minus two. While the story may be run of the mill,the score by master Ennio Morricone is haunting and will stick with you for as long as you grace this earth. Morricone is one of the few composers that can actually make an average film into a very good one. His music adds so much to the film. The rest of the cast is above average compared to the standard fare of the genre during that time period(early 70's). Overall a very enjoyable film that I would suggest to anyone who wants to sit back and just let their mind and body relax for an hour or two. No one can do westerns like the Italians. I wish that the genre would make a comeback but no matter what..things will never be good as the period from 1964-1974,at least as far as westerns are concerned. Give me a good ole Italian western over the American oater...ANYDAY!

I saw this movie for the first time when I was five and from that day I am a fan of men on a mission movies.This is predictable but also a great spaghetti western.It is a combination of men on a mission movies like Dirty dozen (1967) or Magnificent seven (1960) and spaghetti westerns like Good bad and ugly (1966).The best in movie is a Ennio Morricone score.The story, with screenplay of Dario Argento, is full of action and betrayals developed in a fast pace and with a great camera work. The result is a funny and entertaining movie, with situations resolved in the most impossible way.The movie should be rated along with its contemporary Clint Eastwood movies of Good Bad and the Ugly and a For a Few Dollars More!

The Five Man Army is a Spaghetti Western made toward the end of the cycle financed by MGM and Directed by American Don Taylor.The visuals are strong and pacing is adequate with an interesting blend of Italian and American Actors with one Samurai character thrown in. While this film does not have the style of a Sergio Leone Production it does have two very strong elements of his , the screenplay by Dario Argento and the sixth character in the army Ennio Morricone's brilliant score. These themes have haunted me for thirty years since I first saw this film at a drive-in. It is as strong as The Good The Bad and The Ugly. Perhaps not as diverse as Once upon a Time in the West where every Character has their own theme, but every bit as powerful. It is ultimately the score that carries this film, as the acting is pretty stiff. The Screenplay is typical of Argento light on dialogue with a twist at the end, of course this is early in his career. If you like your Spaghetti al dente only you may not care for this film. But if you are like me, a fan of this lost genre you may savor every bite of this Delicious side dish. Makes a great double bill with "My Name is Nobody".