User reviews

Juggernaut is a well done action / disaster thriller which combines some good performances with great direction and scripting. An extortionist calling himself Juggernaut has planted several bombs aboard the ocean liner Britannic and is threatening to sink the liner in heavy seas if he is not paid off. The film follows an official from the cruise company, a naval bomb defuser, and London police officials as they attempt to prevent a catastrophe.

What sets Juggernaut apart from a thousand other 'mad bomber' films is that to a large extent it approaches the threat from an official, even technical perspective. Rather than a maverick cop chasing the psychopath around the ship, we get highly suspenseful scenes of professionals trying to defuse bombs. The film plays up the difficulty of defusing a booby-trapped bomb, taking it beyond the film cliché of simply cutting the right wire. The heroes have to get through a variety of hidden snares within the devices before they even get to the wires. Indeed, the sub-plot involving the cruise official serves to remind us that this is not just a 'technical exercise,' that there really are lives at stake.

Furthermore, the film does not succumb to the temptation to overplay its villain or make him a flamboyant maniac. Despite his code name serving as the title of the film, Juggernaut does not figure that prominently in the plot. When he does turn up, the performance is quite understated, particularly when compared to the head of the bomb squad. (Only Richard Harris would think that downing a bottle of scotch is good preparation for defusing a bomb.) Indeed, one can argue that the bombs themselves serve as the primary antagonist of the film with their fiendish designs.

The acting in the film is quite good overall, even if the characters aren't always that well fleshed out. Richard Harris does a good job as the film's overall protagonist, lending him a sense of mordant humor that keeps him from becoming a stale action hero. Omar Sharif also does a good job as the ship's captain, even though his character is largely one note.

Juggernaut does have some weak points. At times, the investigation back in London is given short shrift, so that it is difficult to follow. Furthermore, there are one or two scenes contrived for dramatic effect that take away from the film's realism. In particular, one scene where a young child gets access to a restricted area of the ship strains credibility. Still, the film definitely stands as a minor classic in its genre.

Not to say there are no thrills in this 1974 British offering for the jumbled genres of action and disaster so prevalent in this particular decade, because there are more than enough for it to warrant entry into both genres. Although the sum of its parts is a simple Good Vs Evil axis the film has the bonus {and important trait} of characters that are thoroughly believable, be it Richard Harris's stoic Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon, or Roy Kinnear's Social Director Curtain, both men poles apart on a social level but crucially; both men that exist in the real world.

The film follows a predictable format of character building because the type of film demands it, if people are going to be in peril then we want to care about them, or at the very least know about them. Juggernaut does this very well, so that when the second half of the film kicks in, when the brave bomb disposal guys are putting life and limb on the line, the film has our undivided attention. It's then a case of hold your breath as the tension rises, and it's all played out with some delightful dialogue from the lead players in the film. This is good honest film making in a much criticised genre and it certainly is worth a look at least once for those interested in quality suspense without the end of the world being at stake. 7/10

Exciting water-bound thriller about a crazy man who has planted explosives aboard a cruise ship and now in high sea with 1200 passengers . This big-budgeted disaster movie was professional and expertly directed by Richard Lester . It deals with a blackmailer who demands a huge ransom in exchange for information on how to disarm the seven bombs he placed aboard the transatlantic liner Britannic captained by Captain Alex Brunel (Omar Sharif) who while falls for a passenger (Shirley Knight) . As a nutty person plants explosives aboard a cruise ship and he mocks the crew about his plan over the wireless . He is asking for a £500,000 ransom , otherwise the bombs aboard will explode . An expert artificier Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon (Richard Harris) is assigned to defuse them in the teeth of a howling gale , being helped by a competent as well as resourceful team (David Hemmings , Jack Watson , among others) . The countdown surges , while the explosive experts struggle to find the bombs . Meantime , back in England Supt. John McLeod (Anthony Hopkins) and other officers whose families are aboard races desperately to track down Juggernaut , the mad bomber . The greatest sea adventure in history has just begun !.

Nail-biting film that contains intrigue , unsettling scenes , thrills , emotion and it raises a fair amount of tension on its theme of seven bombs planted aboard ; resulting out to be pretty entertaining . This formula suspense movie belongs to catastrophe genre of the 70s , being the undisputed king , ¨The towering inferno¨ along with ¨Earthquake¨ , ¨Roller coaster¨ , ¨Two-Minute Warning¨ and many others ; this formula disaster movie was widely developed by Irwin Allen , previously winner of numerous Oscars for ¨Poseidon¨ until the failures as ¨Beyond Poseidon¨, ¨Swarm¨ and ¨When the time ran out¨ . Well-done drama that turns out to be an intriguing and suspenseful film . The tension is nice if not super-tense , though there are some boring sup-plots that undermine the action . As a sub-story involving an American called Corrigan/Clifton James is so negligible as to be simply not worthwhile . The film took its inspiration from an incident which occurred in 1972 when a man claimed he had planted a bomb on board the QE2 and demanded a ransom . The movie was shot mainly aboard a real ocean liner , the Hamburg had recently been sold by its German owners to the Soviet Unión . As the production company -David V. Picker and Denis O'Dell as associate producer- soliciting extras who would take a lengthy cruise in the North Sea for free , but with the knowledge that the ship would actually seek out the worst possible weather . Main cast , -Richard Harris , Omar Sharif and Anthony Hopkins- give excellent interpretations . With special mention for Richard Harris who steals the show as the skillful Lt. Cmdr. Fallon , the brave leader who leads his expert team of men appointed to a risked assignment . Support cast is frankly awesome , all of them give memorable supporting portrayals , it is formed by an all-British-secondary-star-cast , such as : Freddie Jones , Ian Holm , Julian Glover , Cyril Cusack , Mark Burns , Jack Watson , Roshan Seth , Kenneth Colley and Roy Kinnear as the ship's comical social director . And it appears uncredited : Cyril Cusack , Gareth Thomas , Michael Hordern and Simon MacCorkindale .

It displays a colorful and gripping cinematography in Panavision by Gerry Fisher , including persistent high-angle shots photographing the cruise ship , nice camera-work and use of close-ups on bombs . Intriguing and atmospheric score by Ken Thorne . Suspenseful and fine direction by a magnificent professional , Richard Lester . The project was originally to be directed by Bryan Forbes . After his departure , Don Taylor was hired , but departed four weeks before shooting was to begin . Richard Lester then came on board . Rating : Good and entertaining , it's a fairly watchable disaster movie .

Richard Lester directed this mad-bomber saga with such a cold, jaded eye, one might assume his approach totally unsympathetic or indifferent. Instead of being heartless, Lester is actually straightforward and compact, and the film is very involving. A transatlantic ocean-liner with 1200 people aboard no sooner leaves England's port then a genius-psychotic alerts the ship's representative that 7 booby-trapped bombs are set to go off in a matter of hours if he's not paid a fortune in ransom. Getting the bomb-experts aboard the ship via parachutes was a great touch--though once they're all in place, the movie has to bide a lot of time until the inevitable wire-cutting gets under way. Still, this is an exciting journey, filmed in bleak, damp colors, and Lester has done a terrific job at scaling down his actors. Omar Sharif (looking sensational in his Captain's uniform) had not been this real and human in years; Richard Harris, though he does his usual drinking and spouting off, successfully portrays the chief bomb-detonator as a swaggering man awash in a series of inconsistencies, acting with focus and tightly-wound energy. Good show! **1/2 from ****

This is one of those films that I was crazy about as a kid, and pleasantly surprised by years later. There are solid performances from an impressive cast including Richard Harris, Omar Sharif and Anthony Hopkins. The camera work is excellent as well, with some creative macro shots that help clarify the technical details and keep the tension high. Though it requires some patience and attention on the part of the viewer, this film is full of subtle details and is well worth the effort.

It is New Years' Eve and six bombs are found on-board passenger cruiser BRITTANIC, below and above sea level. The anonymous perpetrator demands 500,000 pounds (a suspiciously low sum even in 1974.) Facing choppy seas and 'force 8 winds,' the crew are unable to unload passengers into life-rafts or rescue vessels, and so a team of bomb-disposal experts are flown in.

JUGGERNAUT is a well-paced film and can boast an all-star cast. Richard Harris plays the chief expert as a world-weary drinker who been in the job too long and faced imminent death so many times that he has lost all pretence for morality. David Hemmings has a smaller role as his assistant. A younger - but still grey haired - Anthony Hopkins heads the landside manhunt for the bomber. Ian Holm puts in a lovely performance as the compassionate head of the shipping company, who insists upon paying the ransom, even as the hard-on-terrorists British government threatens to withdraw its generous tax subsidies. Michael Hordern has a cameo, as too does Julian Glover. Rounding off the cast is an understated Roy Kinnear who plays the bumbling cruise director, offering hapless pleasantries to the passengers as well as falling short of a comfort after the bombs presence on board are revealed.

This is a very British film - these is little swearing, no resolute American hero, sandwiches are the meal of choice -offered to the bomb experts and the passengers - who are told relatively early of the threat - take the news with surprising grace, the British upper-lip prevailing over the typical Hollywood hysterier or sentimentality

This is a nice little rarity from the 70's - a disaster film that's actually good. It's about a bomber who plants several drums of high powered explosives on a British ocean liner and threatens to use it to sink the ship if payment of a half million pounds is not made. Cue Dr. Evil.

What's interesting about this movie, is that instead of boring us with the usual soap-opera antics (the edge-of-divorce couple, the terminally-ill child, etc.) the cruise itself turns into a disaster for everyone before the bombs are ever revealed. The ship immediately sails into a storm to which the captain learns that the new gyros they upgraded to are not working, causing the ship to pitch heavily, getting most everybody on board seasick. The weather outside is bad, so all the guests are moping around, shutting themselves up in their cabins or braving the lounge and the overenthusiastic entertainment director, played by Roy Kinnear, who always seemed to find himself in these kind of roles. Those who venture out onto the rolling decks can't prevent their shuffleboard games from drifting into the tennis court, both of which are placed in an area about the size of a three-car garage. In short, these people could use a good bomb crisis to liven things up.

Richard Harris plays the bomb-squad expert who is called upon along with his team to disarm the explosives. Perhaps 'expert' is not the right choice of words, as his crew end up setting off a couple of the bombs in trying to deactivate them. That, and the fact that Harris drinks on the job and at one point recommends throwing in the towel. And that is what makes this movie work - there are no typical heroics you would find in all the other standard-issue disaster flicks of the era. Even the paratroop-like arrival of Harris' team is sufficiently deflated when one of them clumsily loses his dive mask as he jumps from the plane. The ship's captain (Omar Sharif) is carrying on an adulterous affair, some of the bomb squad members get seasick on the ship, and the entertainment director eventually just gives up trying to raise the morale. Nobody is allowed any glory. One of my favorite moments is when a young boy, after being given a book about ships to pass the time with, correctly identifies an innocuous subtly-marked raised flag noting the presence of explosives on the liner, then nonchalantly exclaims "That's 15 points for me."

The movie does eventually button down and give a good, honest and tense bomb-defusing sequence at the end. There's the usual 'which wire to cut' business, but by the time the movie gets there, it has well established that it's not going to be quite that predictable about it. A good British cast is included as well. In addition to Harris and Sharif (who isn't British), Ian Holm and Anthony Hopkins are present, playing landlubber executives trying to help catch and prevent the bomber from fulfilling his threat. I couldn't find Michael Caine, however. He might have been off making a Jaws movie or something. At any rate, this is an excellent thriller that also provides some choice sardonic humor along the way.

I remember seeing Juggernaut when it first came out in theaters back in 1974 and I was sucked in rather nicely as the tension builds in this film. I'm not sure Alfred Hitchcock could have done better building the suspense.

Yet it could have been a lot better. The mastermind behind the plot to extort half a million pounds really doesn't have all that good a motive for what he does. And his actions towards the end of the film when he's caught and the jig is up so to speak, make absolutely no sense.

Juggernaut proceeds on many different levels, as his HMS Britannic sails for a cruise from I presume Southampton a bomb threat is phoned into the ship owners from a man identifying himself as Juggernaut. He wants the amount mentioned above or five strategically placed bombs will explode and sink the Britannic along with 1200 passengers and crew.

Scotland Yard under Anthony Hopkins looks to find the man, shipowners decide to pay, Captain Omar Sharif finds out and tells the crew and they try to keep the passengers minds off the strange doings on the ship. Special mention goes to Roy Kinnear as the cruise director for that particular job and his performance is great.

But primarily the film focuses on Richard Harris and his team of demolition experts. As he's mentioning often enough, he's the best at his job, the champion. He has to be because the stakes are at the highest possible level if he comes in second. And the man he's up against is a brilliant demolitions man himself.

According to a recent biography of Harris he was filming Juggernaut in the United Kingdom and flying back to the USA in intervals to film 99 and 44/100 Percent Dead. How his agent got him into that kind of deal God only knows, but I think he did better on the UK side of the pond.

Juggernaut is a good suspenseful thriller that probably would have been a lot better with more understandable motivation from the villain's point of view.

For the most part, the bomb disposal and the attempt to discover the bomber was moderately interesting, if a bit disjointed. Richard Harris performed adequately, but, of course, he was playing himself. Omar Sharif was wasted as the captain, most of the other adults had no reason for being there, and there were the two requisite "adorable" children thrown in for God knows what. The children's mother never knew or cared where her darlings were; I can only assume that they were the children of the producer, thrown into the picture as an act of good will. The entire film dragged for the middle hour, trying to establish some chemistry between the players and failing utterly, before finally producing one short burst of excitement, then petering out entirely.

If you like Richard Harris, then, by all means, watch this. If not, don't waste your time.

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.)

This was a film I was not familiar with until a co-worker recommended it to me. Knowing of my fondness for old passenger liners like the Queen Mary, Normandie and Titanic, he suggested that I give this film a go. Although, unlike most who have posted comments here, I am not a terrific Richard Harris fan, but in this role he did provide an acceptable performance. Certainly there were technical flaws, many of which have already been discussed here, but isn't it OK to stretch science or physics a bit to be certain the "good guys" win. Has EON Productions not been doing this for the past 43 years with that 007 fellow? If you enjoy this type of film , I will recommend another for you. Try the American film from 20th Century Fox, The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. The films worth a watch if nothing more to see the performances of Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.

**This comment may contain spoilers**

I've just had the pleasant experience of rewatching Juggernaut which I haven't seen since I was a kid back in 1975. What a terrific film! The story concerns a luxury cruiser - the HMS Brittanic - caught in a storm at sea when a terrorist, the 'Juggernaut' of the title, announces that he has planted seven bombs on board and demands a ransom in exchange for the passengers lives (the passengers can't take to the lifeboats because of the storm). So it's up to bomb disposal expert Fallon (Richard Harris) and his team to get on-board the ship by parachuting into the sea with their equipment from an RAF plane. But when negotiations between the terrorist and the police collapse Fallon and his men find themselves in a desperate race against time.

Sounds promising, huh? And the cast is amazing. In addition to Harris you've got David Hemmings as Fallon's sidekick, Anthony Hopkins as the policeman whose wife and kids are trapped on-board the stricken liner, Roy Kinnear (in a scene stealing performance) as the ships hapless entertainments officer and Omar Sharif as the ships captain. There's lots of great British character actors too including Freddie Jones (Firefox), Julian Glover (For Your Eyes Only), Ken Collee (The Empire Strikes Back, Ripping Yarns) and Ken Cope (who played the ghost in Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased).

The production values are equally impressive. The actors are actually on-board a real ocean liner in what looks like fairly rough weather. In some of the deck scenes you can actually see them sliding back and forth across the deck against rolling, grey, choppy seas. There isn't one faked up shot of actors in front of a back projection setup that I could spot and the realism adds a palpable 'you are there' sense of authenticity.

Juggernaut was directed by Richard Lester who demonstrates real talent for making the personal lives of those trapped on the ship as watchable as the suspense sequences. The crew and cast of the Brittanic aren't the laughable cardboard cut-outs of an Irwin Allen epic like The Poseidon Adventure but recognisable individuals with problems sharply observed by Lester with dry, British understatement. Chief amongst them is pretty American actress Shirley Knight who starts off as the Captain's mistress but wins our sympathy by discovering she has more in common with Kinnear's sensitive loser than Sharif's handsome but heartless Captain.

The unique setting of an ocean liner is also very well exploited, especially in one edge-of-your-seat sequence where a kid and a steward end up trapped between sealed bulkheads with a bomb about to explode. The dialogue (credited in part to Alan Plater) is consistently sharp and makes some pointed political digs. When the head of the company (Ian Holm) which owns Brittanic offers to pay Juggernaut's ransom a creepy Govenment rep advises him against it because of the subsidies HMG is paying to the company. When several people get killed even Holm's businessman can't stomach the callousness of risking several hundred lives for the sake of a Government investment, 'Tell him to go stuff his subsidies!' he yells at the adviser in one of many audience-pleasing moments.

Juggernaut is a work of rock solid professionalism and boasts a nail-biting climax. It's a reminder of what suspense thrillers used to be like before the Die Hard's and their successors twisted the format almost beyond recognition. I enjoyed Juggernaut a lot and I think you will too.

All disaster films must have beautiful women in evening gowns. This IS an ocean liner isn't it? It must also have human stories so that you CARE about the passengers. It doesn't matter if the characters are compelling or obnoxious. Also, there must be one character that needs to be slapped. This film is more about men rushing to prevent a disaster, not characters EXERIENCING ONE.

Lastly, and most importantly, there must be camp comic relief. The closest this one comes is a creepy little boy that reminds you of Dodie from My Three Sons

It is worth a watch, but expect a tepid action film, not a disaster epic. Stella Stevens will not appear showing cleavage and Shelley Winters doesn't swim by and save everyone.

Juggernaut

Terrorists rarely take cruise ships hostage because governments don't pay ransom on people who take cruises.

Back in the 1970s, however, commandeering cruise ships, like the one in this thriller, was commonplace.

Passengers on the SS Britannic are thrown into peril when a terrorist named Juggernaut informs the ship's owner (Ian Holm) that there are explosives on-board set to detonate if he doesn't receive a healthy ransom.

Meanwhile, a bomb specialist (Richard Harris) is airlifted in to defuse the situation, while a Scotland Yard detective (Anthony Hopkins) works on tracking down the mad bomber.

Light on Hollywood theatrics due to its British production, this fictional account of a real life event that turned out to be a ruse is grounded and gritty in its storytelling. The classically trained cast also brings a high-level of professionalism to the crisis.

Thankfully, the on-board entertainment tends to get a lot better under terrorism. Green Light

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After having been recently refitted, Captain Alex Brunel (Omar Sharif) sets off with ocean-liner Britannic and 1200 souls. The owner receives a call from Juggernaut who is demanding a limited ransom after placing seven bombs on the ship. Bomb expert Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon (Richard Harris) leads his team onto the ship. Under pressure from the government, the company decides not to pay. Lead Scotland Yard investigator Supt. John McCleod (Anthony Hopkins) happens to have his family onboard.

This is a fine disaster movie. Bomb disposal is not always the most kinetic of action thrillers. This one is able to maneuver around that by having seven bombs and having them on a moving ship. I do keep thinking about Speed2. The plot needs to explain why the ship couldn't stop. It could be moving towards a rescue ship. More epic production would put the ship in a storm. There is more stuff that could be done. There is one fun scene with excess weight. The ending is a bit underwhelming. All in all, this is fine.

'Juggernaut' Or 'Terror On The Brittanic' As it's known elsewhere, Is a superb suspense drama, that takes place aboard a cruise ship that's en route to new york, Meanwhile a mysterious voice rings the ships managing director (Ian Holm),and demands a ransom of Five Hundered Thousand Pounds, If his demands are not met a bomb which is on board will inexplicably explode,

Enter Tony Fallon, (Richard Harris who is a naval expert who along with his assistant (David Hemmings) And Harris's team are quickly sent via navy airplane,to the ship,

Meanwhile Back on dry land Police detective (Anthony Hopkins) Has his fair share of bother,( his estranged wife who along with his two children are on board the liner),Hopkins Is slowly but surely,unraveling who is behind the threat,

Juggernaut,Has a superb all- star cast that also includes type cast sheriff character actor Clifton James,(Live & Let Die, Silver Streak) (Shirley Knight), as a lusty passenger who flirts with Captain Omar Sharif, Usual Lester Mainstay (Roy Kinnear), plays the eager to please entertainment director, Juggernaut, is finally available on DVD, MgM have done an admirably job presenting the film in a pristine 1.66.1 print.

A Major Flop at the Time, this Nail-Biter of a Suspense Film was Marketed as and had the Trappings of One of those Disaster Films of the Early Seventies. It is More Subtle and Underplayed than Those Types and Relies Mainly on Close-Up Bomb Squad Stuff on the Ocean Liner, Intercut with On-Land Police Procedure.

It Does Have a Hefty Cast Featuring Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, Anthony Hopkins, Ian Holm, and Others. Director Richard Lester was the Third Director Hired and He Took Over the Shoot Entirely. He Restrained His Usual Comedic Slants, for the Most Part, and Made the Move as a No Nonsense Thriller.

Not All of it Works, but Enough of it Does to be a Satisfying and Claustrophobic Thriller that is Tense, but Without Much Big-Budget Looking SFX and Expected Big-Screen Extravagances that This Type Trended to Be.

Overall, Worth a Watch for the Acting and the All Around Professionalism, but is Better Enjoyed Without Disaster Movie Expectations. Better than its Reputation and its Initial Undeserving Overlook.

On paper, this film should not be as monotonously sleep-inducing as it actually is. That isn't the roar of the engines or the crashing of the waves against the ships hull you hear... it's the audiences snoring...

The story tells the tale of two courageous men... bomb disposal technicians. Who have to cope with, not just one, but several cleverly constructed devices onboard a cruise liner. This should, in itself, bring in a multitude of ways to create an interesting film. Tension, suspense, panic, and fear at the very least. Well, no! The very least appears to be a total disappearance of these elements. The way most of the movie is filmed is in such a fashion to hinder these feelings untenable. For example, the scene where the heroes board the ship. This should have been one exciting moment as the ship is in rough seas and the men are parachuting in from a plane... wasn't a helicopter available(?) Of course one of them ends up in the sea and has to clamber onto a rope to survive. However, this is rendered boring by bad editing and worse filming as the scene is shot from a distance and the sea spray renders the shot near impossible to view. There are a lot of distance shots throughout. This, at times - though not always, adds interesting camera viewpoints... however, there's usually very little happening in these instances; a man walking through an office, a group of passengers dancing, a man walking through a bank, etc... I believe the director was going for a realistic approach but on the whole, realism is boring. I want my films to invigorate me, at least a little. Take the ballroom scene when all the passengers are informed of the explosive predicament they are in. Do they panic? Do they get anxious and upset? Do tempers and attitudes start to flair? No, they just mope about; evidently, the pay for extra's was non-existent after paying for the good cast. I've never seen a group look so bored. So much for striking terror into the hearts of people!

Even the actors appear to suffer from the same malignity of dullness as their characters often appear two dimensional and flat. The worst is Omar Sharif who's rendition of Captain Alex Brunel is so laid back and paper-thin he's almost not there. Poor Old Roy Kinnear is just annoying as the Social Director of the cruise. His jokes are worse than bad and his delivery is terrible. The only thing funny is his name, Curtain - a good name for a person who arranges the entertainment; though I do wish they'd dropped the curtain at the start of this disastrous movie.

Not even the likes of Richard Harris, David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, and Ian Holm can lift this out off the doldrums... at times, Ian Holm looks as if he could join the audience for a snooze. The best actor in the whole film, who actually adds an engaging spark, is Freddie Jones as Sidney Buckland. If only the rest of the cast and characters were as appealing. However, one character in a busload is too little... and he's not even a major character.

There are much better films of this ilk out there so I'd recommend you check out one of them rather than this film.