Tells a familiar story very well, thanks to a charismatic ensemble cast and boundless ambition when it comes to the scale.

It's beautifully shot and includes bravura set pieces from the front line. Unsurprisingly, it ends badly.

It's all beautifully photographed and lit, using a bright palette that recalls old Technicolor, and exerts a cumulative power over its 130 minutes.

For all the grim reality of death and danger, it's mostly a paean to brotherhood, loyalty and honor in a lost cause, with a stock company of character types bonding under fire...