Movie · 1978 · Drama, Adventure, War · 1h 54m · PG · English
Curator score: 2.3/10 (30.1K ratings)
Explosive high adventure!
Overview
World War II, 1943. Mallory and Miller, the heroes who destroyed the guns of Navarone, are sent to Yugoslavia in search of a ghost from the past.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.3/10
IMDb: 6.4/10
Letterboxd: 3.23/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Metacritic: 42
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
Guy Hamilton
Production
Columbia Pictures, American International Pictures, Navarone Productions
Cast
Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach, Edward Fox, Franco Nero, Carl Weathers, Richard Kiel, Alan Badel, Michael Byrne, Philip Latham, Angus MacInnes, Petar Buntić, Michael Sheard, Leslie Schofield, Anthony Langdon, Richard Hampton, Paul Humpoletz, Dicken Ashworth, Christopher Malcolm, Nick Ellsworth
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A sturdy, old-school WWII mission adventure with a strong cast, some genuine momentum, and enough double-crosses and sabotage set pieces to keep it moving. It’s more enjoyable as a pulpy comfort watch than as a great war film, and its uneven effects and slightly jokey tone keep it from matching the best of the genre.
Best for
fans of men-on-a-mission war adventures
viewers who like 1970s ensemble action movies
people in the mood for a breezy, old-fashioned WWII caper
fans of Alistair MacLean-style plotting and betrayals
Skip if
you want serious, psychologically intense war drama
you’re sensitive to dated effects and miniature work
you prefer tightly written character arcs over plot mechanics
you dislike sequels that feel looser and lighter than the original
Overview
Force 10 from Navarone is exactly the kind of late-1970s studio war adventure that survives on momentum, cast chemistry, and the pleasure of watching professionals improvise under pressure. It has the bones of a good mission movie: secret objectives, shifting loyalties, rugged terrain, and a ticking-clock sense of danger.
Worth noting
The film’s appeal is less in realism than in its pulpy confidence. Robert Shaw gives it gravitas, Harrison Ford brings a clean straight-man energy, and the supporting cast adds enough texture to keep the operation lively. When it works, it feels like a comfortable throwback to a more straightforward era of adventure filmmaking.
Bottom line
Still, it’s not especially elegant. The tone can be a little too playful, the effects are visibly dated, and the sequel connection is looser than the title suggests. If you want a polished, high-stakes war thriller, there are better options; if you want a solid, watchable commandos-on-a-mission yarn, this delivers.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Matt Gourley · 143 likes
This is my favorite comfort food movie of all time.
Kevin Majestyck · 65 likes
The old-fashionedness of this film didn’t seem to impress many critics on release. Maybe “chaps on a war adventure” was out of sync with a cynical post-‘Nam audience; when THE DEER HUNTER and APOCALYPSE NOW released within a year of it. There’s parts where FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE could be better, but this was nowhere near the crappy legacy sequel I was braced for. Pretty solid mission movie.
Edward Fox and Robert Shaw play returning British commandos Miller & Mallory: recast… more
Ian Curran (4★) · 61 likes
Men on a mission, double crosses, lean(ish) runtime: Force 10 has everything I want in a WWII action/adventure movie. It’s certainly more enjoyable than it’s predecessor.
(Kinda) Apropos of Nothing: I used to love when someone would come into the video-store I worked in and ask for help picking movies for a good night in. It was a great opportunity to talk to people about the kinds of movies they liked or what movies they were in the mood for.… more
Quiller (3★) · 43 likes
The best adaptations of Alistair MacLean’s novels (The Guns Of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Breakheart Pass) lean into the source material’s pulpy sense of fun. However absurd the action gets, it’s best to play it straight and let the audience have the most fun, not the characters themselves. The problem with this long-delayed sequel to Guns is that it’s a little too tongue-in-cheek. It’s more in the tradition of boys’ own adventure than pulp fiction. The result is diverting but… more The best adaptations of Alistair MacLean’s novels (The Guns Of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Breakheart Pass) lean into the source material’s pulpy sense of fun. However absurd the action gets, it’s best to play it straight and let the audience have the most fun, not the characters themselves. The problem with this long-delayed sequel to Guns is that it’s a little too tongue-in-cheek. It’s more in the tradition of boys’ own adventure than pulp fiction. The result is diverting but… more
pirateneckbeard (3★) · 41 likes
This is a serviceable follow up but not as good as the original. I do like the trope of old British vets showing the Yankees that they can still get it done. Great cast though but the miniature sets blowing up did make me laugh. I preferred Guy Hamilton's "The Battle of Britain" to his directing here but this is still a fun enough movie to throw on just not really that memorable. I want a sub war movie genre just about trying to blow up bridges because it seems to be a big motif. More like a force six out of ten from Navarone.