Sergio Corbucci's Vamos a Matar, CompaƱeros is a Spaghetti Western about a Swedish weapons dealer and a shady mercenary who must smuggle an idealistic professor into Mexico in the midst of a revolution. The movie tries for the epic status of Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly but falls short by a mile. Where Leone managed to create a poignant, albeit hyper-stylized image of the Old West, Corbucci comes close only in style and fails everywhere else.

CompaƱeros has some of the makings of a classic: a promising (though unoriginal) premise, a fantastic bad guy played by Jack Palance, a stunning supporting actress, and an excellent score by Enio Morricone. The scenery and costume design are also outstanding. But the story is underdeveloped, disjointed and at times ridiculous. Too many flaws get in the way of what could have been a great movie: the overdone moments of unfunny comic relief, the uninspired performances, and the confused political message make for an ultimately superficial caricature of the epic Western.

Given its potential, it's a shame that this movie turned out how it did. There's a reason this movie was forgotten, while Leone's films are still talked about.