Starring
Rod Taylor, Jim Brown, Yvette Mimieux, Peter Carsten, Kenneth More,
Andre Morell. Directed by Jack Cardiff. (1968/110 min).
AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Tiger the Terrible😼
Admittedly,
I haven't seen a lot of films on Rod Taylor's résumé.
Right or wrong, I generally associate him with romantic comedies,
soapy dramas, thrillers and the occasional landmark like The
Birds or The Time Machine. He always came across as a
congenial, blandly-attractive gentleman, as comfortable modeling
suits & ties as he was visiting the distant future. An occasional
leading man who sometimes got the girl, Taylor was always a
proficient actor, but never personally elevated any movie to
greatness.
So
for me, Taylor is an odd choice to play grizzled, badass mercenary
Bruce Curry in Dark of the Sun, a relatively obscure action
film that briefly ruffled some feathers back in 1968 due to its
violence. It's much easier to picture a prototypical tough guy like
Lee Marvin in a role like this. Taylor doesn't embarrass himself or
anything, but my own personal baggage makes it difficult to accept
him as a ruthless hired gun.
 |
| If this was a time machine, they'd be home by now. |
More
convincing is Jim Brown as Ruffo, his sidekick and moral compass as
the two accept an offer from a Congo president to retrieve $50
million in diamonds under the guise of a rescue mission. Curry and
Ruffo assemble a small group of soldiers to take a train deep into
Simba territory, where rebels have been attacking and killing
villagers. Along for the mission is washed-up alcoholic Dr. Wreid
(Kenneth More), hateful ex-Nazi Capt. Henlein (Peter Carsten) and
Claire (Yvette Mimieux), whose husband was murdered by Simbas.
Certainly
no cinematic milestone, Dark of the Sun is nevertheless a
relatively enjoyable adventure film. Trashy, pulpy and a little
exploitative, its violence is comparatively mild 50 years later,
though from a narrative perspective, a few (off-screen) deaths still
pack a punch. Elsewhere, there's some well-staged action, mostly
onboard the train, a truly despicable villain and an unusual score by
Jacques Loussier.
Supposedly
admired by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, I
wouldn't go so far as to call Dark of the Sun a forgotten
classic. As a quick & dirty diversion, however, the film has
enough enjoyable moments worth discovering, even if I personally don't buy Rod Taylor as an tough guy.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
AUDIO
COMMENTARY
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
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