A rag tag bunch of US marines are sent in to the Pacific Island of Rabaul to clear any remaining Japanese forces after heavy bombing. They meet fierce resistance. Another reviewer described this Italian WW2 movie as 'exciting' but I'd have to disagree; despite containing plenty of action, particularly during the second half of the narrative, 36 HOURS OF HELL feels like quite a boring and plodding little movie, let down by pedestrian execution and a general lack of tension which becomes apparent in the lazy dialogue scenes.<br/><br/>The setting is the Pacific theatre this time around, and a jungle island the basis of the action. Richard Harrison is the rugged captain who arrives on the island with a squad of men and must make his way from one end to the other, clearing out any remaining Japanese soldiers en route. Inevitably everything doesn't go according to plan, and a fight to the death between both sides ensues.<br/><br/>I thought it was a pity that 36 HOURS OF HELL isn't a better film because the setting and set-up is a decent, if predictable one. There's barely any action in the first half but this really should be an exercise in tension as the soldiers pick their way through the sweaty jungle confines. The second half is better, featuring some good ambush scenes as well as soldiers falling foul of jungle perils and traps. But the scenes in the Japanese camp drag the pace down - the enemy would be better left unseen - and the inclusion of the female nurse is an unnecessary distraction. In the end, 36 HOURS OF HELL is just routine rather than watchable. A platoon of American soldiers are sent on a mission to a Pacific Island to eliminate any Japanese resistance ahead of the Allies occupying it as a base for a massive invasion.<br/><br/>36 Hours of Hell is another Euro war movie or more specifically a Macaroni Combat film. It came out in the late 60's heyday of this Italian sub-genre. This is one of the rarer ones which was set in the Pacific theatre of war, as most others took place in Europe or the North African desert, most probably for budget reasons. I've found the films from this genre to be by in large pretty mediocre on the whole, with not a huge amount to make them overly memorable. This one falls into this category too, although it's probably one of the better ones I have seen. It has some decent action scenes, while the narrative told from the perspective of three protagonists - an American captain, a Japanese major and a war journalist – was varied and interesting enough to hold my attention from the most part. All-in-all, this is a pretty typical entry for this type of thing, so I expect those with a taste for it will enjoy it well enough.
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295 weeks ago