22-05-2025
The 50 best World War II movies
The sport washers have been the bad guys for decades now, as this wartime sports movie demonstrates in stirring style. This time it's the actual Nazis doing the sportwashing, challenging a group of malnourished POWs to a prestige kickabout, hoping to get in behind the Allies' low block and prove definitively that they are the master race… or something. But they underestimate the resilience and tactical nous of West Ham and England's Captain John Colby (Michael Caine) and his international squad of real-life football stars (Pelé, Ossie Ardiles, Bobby Moore). Sylvester Stallone lends Hollywood star power but it's more fun to enjoy as a high-budget game of 'spot the Ipswich Town player' and a Roy of the Rovers-style underdog story.
