Worthwhile but uninvolving

This was Gillo Pontecorvo's follow-up to his acclaimed "The Battle of Algiers." Shot in beautiful Cartagena, Colombia, it explores the nature of imperialism and insurrection. Add the most captivating actor in history plus Ennio Morricone's memorable score and you have what should be a great movie. While it is an impressive and unique film like "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," and had potential to be spoken in the same breath as "Apocalypse Now," this unfortunately isn't the case. It's certainly educational and somewhat compelling in the second half, but it lacks flow and characterization. As a result, the viewer doesn't know the characters and therefore isn't drawn into their story.

I've watched it three times and it's left me with the same feeling each time: It's worthwhile, but don't expect much entertainment or to care about the characters and their story. Brando cited it as one of his best performances, but his portrayal of Walker is actually unmoving because he's never fleshed out as a human being, not to mention his lack of character becomes clearer as the film progresses.

There's supposed to be a restored version that runs 132 minutes, 20 minutes longer than the original release.