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Too much of everything

Absolutely Fantastic

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Age of Heroes is directed by Adrian Vitoria and Vitoria also co- writes the screenplay with Ed Scates. It stars Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Aksel Hennie, Izabella Miko, James D'Arcy, William Houston, John Dagleish and Stephen Walters. Music is by Michael Richard Plowman and cinematography by Mark Hamilton.Pic is based on the real life exploits of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. This telling sees a unit of Commandos sent on a mission to the mountains of Norway to knock out an important German communication tower whilst purloining information to aid the war effort. In truth it doesn't add a great deal to an already over stocked "men on a mission" sub-genre of war films, but there's enough excitement, explosions, potent character dynamics and military shenanigans, to keep things at the better end of a viewing experience. Cast are fine, all portraying familiar types seen in countless films of this ilk, the snowy Norwegian locations are a sight for sore eyes, and Vitoria does a nice job of giving his film an old fashioned feel - complete with the obligatory Nazi atrocity to add some venomous oomph to the plotting.The inclusion of Izabella Miko on the mission sadly comes off as a token female shoehorn job, and I agree with what other reviewers have said as regards the finale, it does feel a bit rushed as this pic definitely could have done with another 15 minutes or so. Yet being an old fashioned guy myself, I liked it well enough and was glad to have viewed it. 7/10

It's May 1940 France. Corporal Rains (Danny Dyer) gets his men to Dunkirk for the evacuation. He's thrown in prison for striking an officer and cowardice. He breaks out taking Maj. Jack Jones (Sean Bean) hostage. Jones is impressed just enough to allow him to join the 30 Commando unit which was formed with the help of Lt. Cdr. Ian Fleming. They are sent to gather intelligence on German radar by launching a raid in Norway. Jensen (Izabella Miko) is their local contact.This has so much potential. It's Ian Fleming and his commandos. It sounds cool just on its own. There are a few ways to go with this. This is not a particularly good way. It's not a Bond-like action movie. It's also not a gritty realistic war movie. This is more of a faltering old style war movie. It's really annoying when the Nazis are standing out in the open to call out the British commando unit. It's as if they're banking on them being really bad shots. I'm also not impressed with the character Rains. His brashness can sometimes come off as a little whiny. His escape from is a scene with great possibilities. Jones should have jumped on that and take him in right away. Instead it's a lot of to-and-fro. While watching it, I kept thinking this could have been something great.

It has some of the qualities of a television production -- the flat photography, the close ups. But what it is, is a British movie about a commando raid into Norway early in World War II. Ian Fleming is seen supporting the organization of what was to become the SAS but his isn't a prominent role, and he does not wear polished oxblood brogans or chocolate colored bow ties. He's a naval commander, and the leader of the back is major Sean Bean, older but more impressive in his bulk than ever.Some recent British war movies, like "Behind Enemy Lines," have been unusually graphic compared to the triumphant war stories of the 1950s. This one is more brutal and far less polite than any of the others in the genre that I've been able to see.These nascent commandos and the prison that one of them comes from are hellishly demanding. The Brits who run the prison ("the red hats") bully the prisoners, kick them, drive them to exhaustion and then beat them. And the commando training is even more rigorous.The first half tells the story of a prisoner who escapes in order to join the commandos. The second half spells out the story of the raid on some German radar installations in the snowy mountains of Norway.The SS officer who pursues them, tortures his captives, and executes the residents of a tiny Norwegian village is handsome and well spoken, although thoroughly evil. The action scenes -- and there are several of them -- are subject to the usual wobbling camera and instantaneous cutting that's become so faddish. The narrative nevertheless is enthralling. When a captive suffers, he REALLY suffers.The commandos kill many Nazis, and they kill each other when they must, and they even try to kill themselves if they're about to be captured. The ex prisoner is about to cut his own throat as German soldiers approach him. We're supposed to admire the dedication and self sacrifice of the commandos while condemning any Japanese who did the same thing during the war.If you see this, you're not likely to forget it in a hurry.

Why? That's what I want to know. Why does a talent like Bean sign up to a piece of half baked tripe like this? Why make yet another formulaic war film the likes we've seen a hundred times before? Why did I sit through this thing to the very, very disappointing end? Why,why,why? These are some of the questions that you can ask yourself If you sit down to watch "Age of Heroes" but I don't recommend it. The story is the standard: a bunch of "Heroes" are dropped into enemy territory, Steal/destroy something and get out again, the end. That's OK I suppose but it's just so underdeveloped in both story line and the characters that by the end you're left scratching your head thinking WTF. The only fun you'll have is laughing at the many clichés that riddle the movie. Ever seen a hard arsed sergeant major type whose really a great guy underneath? What about an unlikely hero whose doubted at first but eventually shows his true metal? You might also be familiar with the one dimensional psychopathic German soldier, smiling as he shoots civilian prisoners? And believe me there are many, many more. And then there's the ending. This is how I imagine the ending of this film was formulated: Producer: "What're we gonna do we've run out of money and we haven't finished the film yet?"Director: "Mmmmm, no problem we just say instead of a boat picking them up they have to walk to Sweden. They can walk around on a snowy hill for a while, stop and point into the distance and say 'that's Sweden', the end."Producer: "Brilliant!"A very poor end to a very poor film yes, but at least it's over and you can get on with your life. And as for Mr Bean, read the bloody script before you say yes, surely you can't need the money that badly.