The Desert Rats

A very good war/action film. Richard Burton is rather wooden, but so is his character so that's not so bad. There is some fine haunting imagery here, especially a moment where infantrymen charge directly towards German artillery fire that looks like a thunderstorm on the horizon. While the plentiful explosions make for half of the enjoyment, there's a decent human condition quality to it as well that keeps it from being insultingly simple.

Entertaining. Love seeing all the old Second World War kit still in action.

"The Desert Rats" is a World War II movie that reflects the era it was made in. It features a few engaging moments, but by and large, it lacks elements that would make it stand out in the annals of war films.

James Mason reprises his role from "Rommel, the Desert Fox", this time with a phony German accent. Not a bad movie, but cheesy in places and with a few overdone facial contortions by Richard Burton.

Not bad.

This film was made by Fox as a kind of informal sequel to "The Desert Fox", which was a fairly big hit in Britain. James Mason returns here as Erwin Rommel, this time playing him as decidedly more German and decidedly less sympathetic. The fairly episodic plot makes for a pretty average, but entertaining war film about men making extreme sacrifices. Burton, very early in his career and 2 films into his multi-year contract with Fox, is riveting.