User reviews

Yes, there is some cheesy acting, but the payoff in this film is excellent! After reading other commentaries on this film, I won't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't see the film when I say that it concludes with an accurate portrayal of special ops folks in action. But it is not only accurate, it is exciting, and well shot (love the view through the mask!). Combine accuracy and excitement and you have something that beats most of those other "special ops" films hands down. It makes Rambo et al seem downright nonsensical (which it is), and rightly so.

And as someone who studied in Europe for several years and saw the political far left in action on the streets of the major cities, I can tell you that many of them talked just like they do in the movie. And yes, the guerrilla theatre production lampooning the US is accurate, that type of theatre did take place.

Who Dares Wins is a top British action movie made in the early 80's. It's star Lewis Collins was very well known in the UK from the hit TV show "The Profesionals". It was certainly made to cash in on the famous Iranian Embassy siege a mere year before they released this, which was televised live in Britain as the SAS stormed the building. Who Dares Wins has certainly dated as all 80's action films have, but it has great action scenes and stunt work. Collins is good in this and perhaps would have made a good 007, I don't know if he ever tested for the role but his Bond would have been closer to Connery than any since. The story is very silly and some scenes like the "rock concert" are cringe worthy but the action makes up for it, with a superb siege at the end.

This is a film I'd heard of years ago, but never got around to watching it until yesterday.

While the plot seems a little slow at times (an illusion created by watching too many hollywood action movies), and (as many people here have commented) the dialog can get a little cheesy, add to the fact that the hairstyles, clothing, vehicles, etc... look dated now. But that's not what I was watching the film for.

The actual action sequences in the film are typical special operations style action sequences, i.e. they're over practically before they've started! This film, if not realistic (I'm sure it is, but as someone who doesn't know how the SAS really operate, I couldn't comment), is totally believable. From the handover by the police to the military, through the planning phase of the operation, the MOE (fast-roping from helicopters onto the roof, then abseiling down the side of the building), the total communication throughout the assault. It's absolutely breathtaking.

This is no Hollywood Action Movie. It's totally different from the likes of "Operation Delta Force", etc... There are no cheesy one-liners when a terrorist is dropped. There is no jumping about, emptying whole magazines (and more!) into people, shooting from the hip at targets 200 metres away and hitting them with the first shot, while snipers on the opposite side couldn't hit the Titanic from 2 metres away.

So, to sum up, I'd give the plot, characters and acting 7/10, but the action sequences, I'd wholeheartdly give 12/10! Fantastic stuff...

The Final Option has American players Richard Widmark and Robert Webber joining a British cast playing the American Secretary of State and head of the Strategic Air Command over in London for an arms limitation conference. What happens is that they get taken hostage by a radical group of terrorists who are nicely moled into the peace movement.

British action star Lewis Collins gets a rigged incident so he can resign from the SAS the British equivalent of the Delta Force and infiltrate the peace movement. Clearly he doesn't fool anybody, but Collins has his uses and Judy Davis the head of the radical cell finds him useful in many ways.

In fact the two female terrorists Davis and Ingrid Pitt really walk off with this film with their brand of fanaticism.

When the shooting starts toward the end it is the best part of the film as SAS does what it does best, kill enemies.

Final Option is a well done action flick that the Margaret Thatcher government must have loved.

Lewis Collins used to be in a hit series called The Professionals which was the height of 70's b/s TV. A strange special unit (CI5) that went around London firing guns, chasing people in pre ABS Ford Escorts, crashing through windows and doing other things that look good on the box. This is a bit more of the same. Not the same story, but lots of things that make little sense, but do provide cheap thrills for the undemanding audience.

The SAS are a kick-down-the-door British military unit that goes to places that others don't and is the creme de la creme of the British forces. However rather limited in scope and purpose. Collins plays Capt. Peter Skellen who pretends to have been kick out of the service in order to infiltrate a terrorist gang hiding behind CND.

(I bet they were pleased!)

While "hide in plain sight" is not unknown in security service circles what goes on here piles the unlikely on the unlikely until the whole thing starts creaking before the plot has even been set up. Can you imagine what it will get like later?

Thankfully the terrorists are thick as short planks and plain crap at their job - so no great detective skills are needed. They even hover under revolutionary posters just in case you don't get their drift or politics.

Indeed Collins merely has to give a couple of cheap chat-up lines to female revolutionary Judy Davis (is this where it all started to go wrong dear?) and her easy-off pants are history. Talk about pushover - there are crack addicted prostitutes who would be harder work!

It all boils down to a grand climax that we can all see coming like a Dutch milk train with serious engine trouble, but don't let me spoil the fun - if you are the sort that can live with the above.

To make things more kosher stars of yesteryear come on to do their bit and I give them great credit - they have all waited until the director has shouted "cut" before demanding their cheques.

I saw this movie when it was titled, "The Final Option". I was an avid reader of Soldier of Fortune (SOF) magazine and it was recommended as a must see movie. It was noted for its realism. In addition, it was felt the peace movement was actually supported by Russia because by having the "West" disarm, it would allow Russia to get stronger while the West got weaker. You see this in the movie when the bankers help funnel money to the peace movement.

The main reason for seeing the movie was the action by the Special Air Service (SAS). SOF magazine said the SAS cooperated in the making of the movie. I thought the movie was a little long but the action parts were first rate. The final part was the best part. The best part was when the camera was filming through the gas mask and you could hear and see what it is really like to be on the inside. I remember the huffing and puffing and the words, "One terrorist down, one terrorist down" as each one got shot. SOF magazine said when the SAS goes in, there are no prisoners taken-only dead terrorists. As a real law enforcement person I am always complaining how the public has no idea of what really happens during police actions. The public always seems to ask why did the police not shoot the gun out of a persons hand or why did the police shoot or didn't shoot. Split second decisions have to be made and it is so easy to to be a "Monday morning quarterback" They never see the confusion. I think every person who thinks the cops are always wrong should see this movie.

This was one of the first movies I was allowed to go and see with my twin sister and friends back in the 80's. We were all big 'Professionals' fans.

We were not disappointed, there were really good action scenes and the plot very much mirrored the politics of the time. Lewis Collins plays a convincing, arrogant, SAS captain, who is sent undercover to infiltrate a terrorist organisation. His plan does not work out. He was supposed to identify the terrorist target, but is always kept in the dark. This all leads to a dramatic climax as he plays the hero at the end of the movie.

Unfortunately with today's hi-tech movies, this has dated somewhat but it does give a great snapshot of the 80's.

This movie was one of the first to describe or portray the deft skill of the S.A.S. Britain's foremost special forces. This movie is quite good, but, like any other movie has its weak points. The story is based on terrorists who take control of an embassy in London and a SAS soldier who infiltrates them to thwart their plot. Quite good in parts.

This film seemed way outdated even before it's release; though in saying this, it does have some gripping action sequences and some believable S.A.S combat methods. Ironically i started watching the day before the Lewis Collins (r.i.p) actually died. In time it has been remembered and now more so than ever.

The first 10 minutes of the movie, the introduction of the SAS is really good. But then, the story of "Who Dares Wins" becomes a bit boring until the last 20 minutes. Not that i am an action junkie, who needs an explosion every 2 seconds, but the story was so lame, that i needed ten cup of coffees to stay awake.

But....

At the moment the SAS assault begins, the movie rocks ! For me, the storming of the embassy is one of the best movie moments in my live and i love it every time i watch it. The great music by good old Roy Bud also fits perfectly.

PS: Shame that Lewis Collins never became a big movie star !

I have given this a 8 not because of the acting or the film its self,it was full of goofs,but the story was bang on the mark. How people forget how it was back in 1983 when the film came out if you get yourself along to a disused nuclear shelter like the one in Fife,Scotland (Secret Bunker)and take a look at the posters of all the CND marches,ban the bomb,etc you begin to remember how it was back then and the fear the cold war had on people,it was also a time of extreme Right,and left wing politics in the UK (Skinheads,Anarchists,National Front,and Communist party's) The SAS were also in the news,and the footage was almost like the Iranain Embassy footage at the time complete with Anna Ford news reading for ITN

From an army point of view,there was some good Accuracys amongst the goofs,the SAS train with live ammo,not blanks,the HQ was correct,the train in the Welsh hills,and they founded the flash bang grenade,the Hotel entry was also correct,blowing the hinges of the front door,with a shot gun,and the SAS train with other international army's (deemed friendly to the UK)

the funding for the terrorists was not too far from the real life truth,and it was a time of mercenaries,everybody was hiring everyone who was special op trained

I found the Film'looked' a bit like the Proffesionals TV series at the time in places,and the Music also conveyed this,this was deliberate on Sir Lew Grades part as to make a smooth transition from small screen to Big for Mr Collins

the real hero in the film is the Scottish actor who plays a fellow solider (of Collins) in the film,who plays it straight and realistic throughout

I have had this film since it came out (2 tapes,and a DVD),not in my all time top 10,but comes out from time to time,to bring back memory's of a forgotten time,and a time of Cold War fear

Donald Suttie

Who Dares Wins is possibly the most right-wing film ever made in the UK. The film is virtually an advert for Thatcherism and the Conservative party. This however give it a unique status among UK films.

Most British films are about class, isolation, unemployment among other such themes that show the uglier side of British life. WDW is totally uncritical of the way Britain is and instead concentrates on giving us action. On this it delivers. The action is British, no one-liners or glorification of killing. The SAS are portrayed as what they are, professionals with a dirty job. In this the film is pretty realistic.

What is not realistic is the idea that a hard left group would actually encourage a nuclear bombing. However, many of the other reviews criticise the film because it suggest left-wing people are a threat. These people have forgotten that at the time the NUM, CND, NGU and the Labour Party were dominated by people bent on violent action. The idea that they could try to attack government itself was plausible at the time, even if it wasn't particularly likely.

I wish that more British filmmakers out there would give us pure escapism, which is the intention with WDW, instead of endless social commentary. Whilst there is a place for Ken Loach/Mike Leigh/Danny Boyle et al, there is also a place for nonsense like this.

WDW is escapism. It does not challenge us all it seeks to do is entertain us, and it does this pretty well.

This is actually a pretty bad film. The ideology is not as perverse as in those films Collins made later. However, my main misgivings about the film are that it is implausible and quite frankly boring for a long time. The whole concept of an ex-SAS man joining terrorists for no particular reason isn't very convincing and you can't help wondering why a group of highly organized terrorists (who later become pretty clueless) fall for it. The film starts with a pretty powerful scene but then meanders for quite a long time building up towards the great finale. Overall, I think Who dares wins could have been an interesting 45 minutes episode of The Professionals but the story doesn't carry a feature film. Although reasonably successful at the time this film initiated the demise of Collins' career who in the eighties mainly made cheap and dubious soldier-of-fortune or army films. Pity, because he actually is quite a versatile actor but at the end of the day Martin Shaw chose his roles more carefully and has a career that's still successful.

History has been kind to Who Dares Wins (the original UK title). Panned by critics , probably due to the bad timing of the film's release (1980 Iranian Embassy Siege, 1982 Falklands War), it's actually very popular. Yes, there are some cheesy dialogue scenes and some hammy acting, but the SAS choreographed action is top notch and Roy Budd's score is rousingly funky. Lewis Collins is as hard-nosed and arrogantly top rate as ever but looks like he's suffering from Bodie-fatigue.A well scripted sequel would be well received with Collins as an older Skellern. Get him doing what he does best.

one of the mistakes which really stand out in this film is when the sas are about to rescue skellern's (lewis collins )wife and child who are being held hostage. the sas plan to gain entry by an adjoining property,after making all their preparations the adjoining wall is blown out by explosives, simultaneously the lights are cut off in the room holding the hostages, soldiers storm in and shoot both terrorists dead, yet when the camera pans around the room a PC is seen skellern's wife is seen, the baby is also seen none the worst for wear. i would have thought the baby would be screaming amid all the noise and confusion.

SAS Captain Peter Skellen goes undercover to infiltrate The People's Lobby, a group of radicals who have aligned themselves to the CND movement. They plan to gain access to the US Embassy in London and hold the Ambassador and his guests hostage, while making outrageous demands of the British Government.

I'll keep this relatively short as the previous reviewer accurately nailed this film to the floor. I saw it on its theatrical release when I was 15, and didn't think it was particularly good then. I sat up watching a late night screening on the BBC at the weekend, as it had been some years since I had last seen it. It was as bad as I remembered it to be. A combination of a poor screenplay, bad acting, equally poor direction and woolly headed politics all serve to leave us with a disjointed mess. As the previous reviewer stated, the one saving grace is the cinematography. However, this alone cannot compensate for the overall shortcomings of the film.

I noticed that the film came from the same production team that gave us 'The Wild Geese'. While that film stretched credibility in terms of the age of the protagonists, it crucially didn't take itself too seriously, and was professionally handled. 'Who Dares Wins' by comparison is a charmless shambles.