Verdict
Summary
Resembling a pulpy men’s adventure novel of the period, the film is sexy, full of action, and snappy one-liners.
Plot:
Ex-soldiers reunite in the Philippines to find some treasure.
Review:
Expatriate American and former soldier in World War II Pat Morrison (Burt Reynolds) has been hanging around in Manila for years, building a comfortable life for himself with wine, women, and song. He’s been sleeping with his buddy’s wife for quite awhile, and committing small crimes and building himself a little empire supported by his chicanery when he calls together his old soldier buddies from all corners of the world to reunite with one purpose: To find a stash of gold he thinks he’s found, thanks to a tip from one of his war buddies. The guys assemble, but before they can get to questing, his friend with the knowledge of where the gold might be has a heart attack, and so being a mensch he tracks down his friend’s daughter, who has become a famous tennis player (played by Anne Francis) who happens to be in the Philippines at a tennis tournament. But before he can get to her, the knowledge of the treasure gets out and suddenly he finds that there might be a problem getting the valuable information about the treasure before something terrible happens to his friend. Once he reunites his friend with his daughter (they haven’t seen each other in ten years), the quest for the treasure can begin, but then they have to deal with infighting amongst themselves and the Philippine authorities, who might have a say in a bunch of random guys claiming a fortune in gold.
A breezy action adventure with a bit of an edge, Impasse is a fun vehicle for star Reynolds, who was coming into his own as a leading man. The movie has a bit of a Dirty Dozen feel to it, and when the guys snatch the treasure, the action really heats up. Resembling a pulpy men’s adventure novel of the period, the film is sexy, full of action, and snappy one-liners. Anybody into treasure hunting movies or Burt Reynolds will get a real kick out of this one. From director Richard Benedict.
Impasse was just released onto Blu-ray by Kino Lorber, and it comes in a brand new 2K master. It looks and sounds excellent and would make a find addition to anyone’s hard copy media collection. The disc also includes the trailer.
