A cinema remake of the classic sitcom Dad's Army (1968). The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deal with a visiting female journalist and a German spy as World War II draws to its conclusion.
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Reviews
Did you people see the same film I saw?
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
I wanted to like 'Dads' Army'. I really did. It features some of my favourite British character actors, and brings to the big screen one of my favourite TV shows. Unfortunately, it's awful from start to finish. The slapstick is over-done and unsubtly telegraphed, the pacing uneven (verging on the near comatose, at times), the cinematography unimaginative, and – unforgivably, given the wealth of material they had as inspiration – the script is unbearably weak. Bill Nighy and Tom Courtney look unutterably bored, and Bill Paterson barely seems to have noticed that the camera is rolling. Michael Gambon and Toby Jones are clearly trying to make the best of a bad job, but they are aping the characterisations and physical mannerisms of Ridley and Lowe...and I expect better - MUCH better - from actors of their calibre. Awful. If they upped the pace and spent less time trying to add needless detail to the characters' back-stories (did we, for example, really NEED to see the good Captain's wife? – she had much more comic worth as an off-screen gorgon!) it might have been bearable. It isn't.Stupid boys!
There are many fond reminiscences of Dad's Army but they missed many opportunities here to recapture them.Key to this are the portrayals of the characters.Even those who played them well - Toby as Mainwaring - very good.Gambon as Godfrey - brilliant.Sarah Lancashire as Mrs Pike - outshining the clothes horse CZJonesstruggle without their many catchphrases that peppered the TV series and built the atmosphere and characters.Tom Courtney was certainly lacklustre as Cpl Jones who was always the firecracker in the TV series ready for anything.Definitely not with any of the beautiful character interaction of the original that made it so strong over 80+ episodes on TV.SPOILER? And horror of horrors you get to see a fully functioning character of Mrs Mainwaring! Her presence in the TV series was always enigmatically never fully visualized - a never to be seen but looming threat that sent Mainwaring scurrying in ways that no Nazi would ever do. Seeing her revealed was quite a let down for me.Well not entirely a damp squib but only 3/10 for effort I feel after a long wait.
It's always hard to watch a remake without comparing it to the original... This film stands better with its peers if you can resist the urge to make the comparison with its original ...I read some reviews making direct comparisons which to me in truth isn't fair as to do so in anyway you really need to go back to the very first series... As its in these episodes you see the same criticisms made of this one ... The original series developed into what we all know and it wasn't till the coloured episodes that we saw the same story lines from the B&W episodes being tweaked to suit the actors and their characters... It was the writing for the individuals that went to make the dads army we know and love... So to me it's unfair to compare those rewritten and established characters and story lines to this film...If you are going to do so it should be compared to those original B&W episodes where you can see some of the same criticisms made of this film in those episodes... Of course even by doing so you can get caught up in the trap of making like for like comparisons and to me this film isn't or wasn't made to be such... To me it plays more like an homage to a wonderful show and gentle quirky characters...This film to me stands out from other recent releases as a gentle and quirky film... Something that doesn't try to be anything more than it is ... It isn't a remake ... It's an homage ... And no matter how much you loved the original Dads Army .. This film doesn't set out to be that but rather to me a gentle reminder of the emotions those shows brought to us..It's worth the effort to watch and enjoy it for what it is... An homage to a great TV show and wonderful characters and a reminder of a time past and never to be repeated... The slight variations didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of this film... It was never meant to be a laugh out loud film... just a simple film to enjoy and pass a few hours being reminded of a time past...
Well my assumption is Dad's Army was meant to be a comedy however it took me 1 Hour 27 Minutes to get my one and only laugh. The best bit was right at the end if you could physically make it that far. A big fan of the original series I was worried about this from the start then seeing the poor reviews and it actually being pulled from showing in my country I had to wait till I could see it online the cheapest was possible. The main problem really with this film is leaving well enough alone. What was a fantastic show with its original cast had no hope of being replicated. However the casting process did come close two some of the characters and I do mean some. Annoyingly others were added in for no real need EG Mrs Manwaring who has not left the home in the series. I do give the show points it's not a complete dud but I am glad I did not waste much on it. Nice try but so far from the mark it makes one reflect on what the original gave. I will add here that giving away the main protagonist (spy) so early destroyed the mystic. This scene was visited more times than needed or could have been filmed in a way that hit the identity.