Well worth a watch!

dgrahamwatson

Actually, not a bad film at all: the ever reliable Richard Harris (probably getting warmed up for his Rafer Janders role in WILDGEESE) steals the show playing the slightly cynical, cocky bomb disposal trouble shooter whose tired of life and doesn't know who the good guy's are anymore! He plays the part well and is supported by Anthony Hopkins, Ian Holm, Omar Sharif and a huge assortment of fine British character actors.

There is no nudity, profanity, endless gun battles nor a huge body count but a lot of dialog, so anybody under the age of the 35 will be bored stiff and consequently unable to follow the movie! In addition because it was made in 1974 there is no scenes with anybody tapping away on a computer or cell phones going off all the time and lastly no American squared-jawed tough guy to save the day. Fashions and hairstyles can all come back into favor I suppose but to me the most dated part of the film was when one of the support staff back at central command was drawing the bomb on a black board with chalk! That type of support would be utterly ludicrous today in the light of new technology. Never the less it's well paced, engrossing and a very under valued 70's thriller which I would certainly recommend!

The DVD has been restored to full grace and viewers can see at first hand the gray miserable weather that you can get around the British Isles, as well as the outrageous fashions and hairstyles way back then. It's well worth a rent for all of the above! (Note: in the 1980's TV series MACGUYVER there was an episode where they ripped off the plot from this movie.)

score 10/10

dgrahamwatson 20 July 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1131018/