I was not aware that
Wages of Fear was
The Sorcerer story. I've seen The Sorcerer and wasn't impressed but this... I loved this. Even the beginning half hour, which was a bunch of character setting was good and just flew by but once they start moving product it went next level fun.
I'm not going to say a lot about the plot except that four guys are to transport two truckloads of nitro glycerin through mountainous dirt roads for two thousand dollars apiece. It's a suicide mission. Thee company doesn't expect them all to survive. Three of the guys, Bimba, Luigi and Mario are solid dudes, they are well aware of what they're up against and are very resourceful. Jo, the gun toting, BMOC, former gangster, is a little bitch and I wish Mario had left him on the side of the road a few times. However, if Mario had done that we wouldn't have had one of the best moments of the film when Mario, also sick of Jo's crap, beats Jo down pretty good, then, when it's all over, Mario just slaps him one more time for good measure. Just completely demoralizes Jo. It was great. Gave a little tee-hee at that. Bimba and especially Luigi are two guys you'd love to have a beer with. Just lighting cigars and transporting explosives.
So the beginning was really interesting but once they hit the road the pacing of this movie is perfect. This is really one of the fastest two hours I can remember thanks in part to three great, high tension, scenes. The switchback scene was fantastic. Loved the close up shots of the wheels working, watching the ass end of the truck start sliding out towards the edge of a bridge, then, later, meeting a gigantic rock blocking the road and figuring out how to get through that and finally, finding a way to navigate an oil pit. All three scenes were top notch.
The acting is fine, I really enjoyed the cinematography and the ending sucks. Hard! The movie is five minutes too long. But I could watch this again and just turn it off at the 2:05 so I'm not gonna knock it any points for that because for just over two hours I was thoroughly enjoying this movie. Thanks to whomever selected this one. Easily one of the more entertaining movies I've seen from the 50's.