It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There is absolutely nothing to recommend about "They Who Dare." I think the title "They Who Dare to Make this Film" would have been more appropriate. The dialogue and the plot are so boring!! Tedium soon sets in as our heroes talk their way to victory, rather than actually fighting the enemy. Dirk Bogarde must have been looking forward to his earnings, that's all I can say. He clearly doesn't feel the need to act much here. Mind you, I daresay most other actors would feel the same way. There is no attempt to infuse a spark of imagination into the dialogue. It is merely a case of going through the motions.

THEY WHO DARE is one of the more disappointing WW2 movies I've watched. Where the film should be tense and exciting it just sort of trudges along through the story, much like the same characters. Despite the narrative being chock-full of dramatic events, nothing in the picture is ever very exciting, and you don't end up caring much about the fate of the characters one way or the other. It keeps you watching throughout, but I was expecting to be on the edge of my seat and I never was.The story is about a squad of British commandos who arrive on the island of Rhodes with the objective of blowing up a German airfield. Their mission is full of the usual problems and complexities, and things are far from over when they finally arrive at their destination. The film is full of stunning Greek scenery and has some strong character work from the likes of Akim Tamiroff, but the plodding pace and seeming disinterest of the director works against it.Dirk Bogarde is a good choice for the youthful hero, tough and yet humane at the same time. I've always been a fan of Denholm Elliott so there's nothing to complain about there either. In addition, character actors who are usually limited to brief cameo parts in low budget movies, such as Sam Kydd and Eric Pohlmann, get bigger and better roles than usual. The story has the sting of realism to it, but at the same time remains uninvolving throughout. I've not seen any of Lewis Milestone's other movies so I can't say how much he's to fault.

"They Who Dare", which Lewis Milestone directed in 1953, comes across as a kind of preamble for "The Guns of Navarone" and was handsomely shot on location. It deals with the exploits of a small group of British and Greek soldiers tasked with blowing up German air bases on Rhodes but is rather lacking in action; most of the time is spent on the journey to the targets thought when the fighting does start it is lively enough. This is Dirk Bogarde in handsome, dashing leading man mode rather than Bogarde the actor he was ultimately to become and others in the cast include Denholm Elliot and Akim Tamiroff, though they are both wasted. It's hardly comparable to Milestone's other war movies but it's far from being a right-off either.

Please note that my vote of 9/10 applies only to the 92-minutes version. The 107 minutes version I would rate as 5/10, or maybe 6/10 at the most.The problem with the long version -- and the reason "They Who Dare" earned so many scathing and unenthusiastic reviews on its first release back in 1953 -- centers on inconsistencies and other defects in scriptwriter Robert Westerby's characterizations. Recognizing that these complaints were legitimate and that Dirk Bogarde's box office popularity was being undermined, the movie was withdrawn and expertly cut down to 92 minutes.As far as I'm concerned, the cutdown concentrates on action, and as these sequences are directed with Lewis Milestone's usual bravura, I'm not going to quibble about a few little, trifling elements of confusion that I may have in following the plotting and the storyline.