User Reviews

Some strong performances in this film, although slightly dated. Good storyline, great backdrop. Kept me watching till the end. Worth a watch.

It's fine, but it falls into the all-too-specific trap that a lot of similar films of the era fall into — being way too slow of a flick for my attention-deficit-having ass. Personal preference is personal preference and, yes, I understand this is based on a 19th century short story, not some graphic novel or pulp comic strip. I guess I just require a little bit more meat to an adventure film than "watch as these two swindlers hoodwink a bunch of brown people." That's the other thing, too (and you're gonna run into this kind of issue with pretty much any material of Rudyard Kipling's lol); the problematicism is kinda just baked into this cake, and while I'm not necessarily the kind of person that's as sensitive to that sort of thing as I could be, even I found some elements to be worthy of a wince or two. Still, it's cool enough to see two UK film icons onscreen together for a decent chunk of time. Mildly worth the watch.

Sean Connery and Michael Caine play a pair of razor-sharp scoundrels, scamming their way through an east Asian joyride during the twilight of the 19th century. On a thoroughly unpredictable adventure, the duo constantly converts lemon to lemonade as they meander from a publisher's office in India to a fictional holy land in the desert. There, intending to conquer a few villages and live the high life, the stakes suddenly spike as they find themselves anointed saviors, kings and (eventually) gods. Connery and Caine, good friends away from the screen, bubble with chemistry throughout. Their relationship is essential, and that obvious bond lifts an already-ambitious screenplay into something greater than the sum of its parts. When viewed with contemporary eyes, the pace is a little slow, akin to similar films of the era, but that deliberate tempo reaps unique rewards. By lingering in the atmosphere and dutifully setting the stage, director John Huston expertly depicts the vast cultural differences between our conniving, almost-modern Brits and the ancient ways of life still at play in turn-of-the-century Asia. A fine example of old-style filmmaking, loaded with snappy humor, surprising plot turns, high stakes and creeping peril.

Overrated movie. The story is not realistic, its entertaining for the masses. The movie has some humour parts, sometimes it was good, sometimes childish. Good acting of course, you have 3 stars here. And great pictures with beautiful landscapes.