Why Wild Geese Is Great

For me it does what surprisingly few war films does which is follows the troops from their civilian life all the way to them dying in combat. I always wondered why nobody else tried to do this in a film. When I see Sandy die I think of him back home before the mission in his garden. It hits home more knowing even such a small part of his private life.
Most war films start with the troops in training or already in combat. I know these guys are Mercs in it for money but once the proverbial hits the fan they are all in it for each other. The film holds up today for me because of this. Rafers death hits like a punch to the gut all the more after the early scenes with his son.