Ffolkes
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Movie Reviews of Ffolkes
Movie Review: The great film that no one seems to have seen
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a unique film. I agree with my fellow reviewers. The characters are solid and I think the selection of these actors could not be improved upon. There is no wasted dialog, no special effects, no rap music in the sound track. Why it failed to be recognized in the theaters is a mystery, though I suspect it's the "anti-James Bond" approach used in ffolkes. No gadgets, no babes, not a smooth talker in this one, Roger Moore is a much more believable character than 007 ever was. I have never met anyone else who has seen this film. Buy a copy, share it with a friend. Maybe you should buy 2 copies.Movie Review: An Action Hero Who Likes Cats
Summary: 5 Stars
Roger Moore proved in this movie he would be an excellent James Bond in later years. This is one of the finest hostage movies ever made. Bad guys, led by Tony Perkins, excellent in the role, takes hostage an oil platform service boat in the North Sea, and puts explosives on British oil platforms worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and Moore's team is brought in to solve the crisis. James Mason is the stiff upper lip Admiral who accompanies Ffolkes (Moore) to the platform. Many good supporting actors, Michael Parks and others. An old film that could have been made yesterday.Movie Review: Excellent movie, finally on DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
This has long been a favorite of mine, and I am thrilled to see it on DVD. A totally opposite, non-Bond role for Roger Moore, he plays it to the hilt. Anthony Perkins is also very good.Movie Review: Not a typical Hollywood thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
Mention the name Roger Moore to the average moviegoer and they'll most likely immediately associate him with the James Bond franchise. Makes sense to me. After all, Moore took up the mantle thrown down by Sean Connery and eventually made some seven Bond films, beginning with "Live and Let Die" in 1973 and ending with "A View to a Kill" in 1985. I'm partial to Roger Moore because of this very fact. He's definitely my favorite Bond; I enjoy his glib wit, expressions of fear when confronted with daunting situations, and just the way he handles himself onscreen. I never turn down an opportunity to watch one of his films when AMC or another channel runs yet another lengthy 007 marathon. It's natural, considering how much I enjoy his Bond films, that I would seek out other Roger Moore projects. Thanks to DVD, we're starting to see his work on "The Saint" and several other efforts reemerge. I'm still waiting for "The Wild Geese" and, up until a short time ago, I eagerly awaited the arrival of "ffolkes." Finally, I procured a copy and immediately sat down for a watch. I wanted to see if I liked the movie as much as I did ten or fifteen years ago.
"Ffolkes" is the story of Rufus Excaliber ffolkes (Moore, of course, with lower case last name for some reason), a crusty old tar who runs a mercenary security service in his retirement. You could say that this chap is the sort of gentleman businesses turn to when they need top-notch security. You could also say that governments might turn to him as well when faced with threats not easily deterred with conventional forces. And that, my friends, is exactly what happens when a terrorist named Lou Kramer (Anthony Hopkins) hijacks two British oil rigs in the North Sea. With the technical assistance of nerdy looking Harold Schulman (Michael Parks) and a gang of muscle, Kramer rigs the platforms with high explosives and then sends his demands to London. Predictably, the Prime Minister (Faith Brooks) and her cabinet are outraged. The tendency to not negotiate with terrorists, however, places the government in a real bind. Fortunately, certain insurance concerns--quite agitated that the destruction of the rigs could bankrupt the firm--call in Rufus Excaliber ffolkes to save the day. It's the sort of task he and his people relish, as Kramer's carefully prepared plans demand an intellectual as well as a physical response. It's a tough assignment made all the more difficult by the stormy, cold region.
Ffolkes rapidly coordinates his plan of attack with the help of Admiral Sir Francis Brindsen (James Mason). The outfit manages to remove one of the rigs from danger quite quickly and easily, but the second one is a bit harder since Kramer and his thugs float right beside it on a small boat. And Kramer's emotional state is deteriorating as fast as the weather outside. The Nordic crew of the ship, led by Captain Olafsen (Jack Watson), resents their kidnapping by Kramer and constantly irritates the terrorist. This cautious defiance, coupled with the grinding process of negotiating with the British government, soon wears heavily on Kramer. He oscillates between calm and explosive rages, always inches away from the detonator that will blow the rigs sky high. The vast majority of the film takes place on the boat and on the nearby rig, as ffolkes disguises himself as a British naval officer in the hope that he can board the ship as part of the negotiating team and bring the evil Kramer down. Needless to say, the plan doesn't go quite as smoothly as hoped. Can ffolkes and the British government save their oil production facilities in the nick of time? Watch and see.
Moore is great in this movie. He plays a no nonsense sort of guy set like stone in his ways. A misanthrope with a penchant for cats, needlepoint, a love of Scotch, and a loathing for women that runs to the core of his soul, ffolkes makes for an interesting character. As played by Roger Moore, he's hilarious because we immediately realize that this guy is about as far from James Bond as one could get. Less compelling, at least for hardcore action film fans, is the pace and content of the movie. The picture is one of the talkiest action movies you're likely to see, and even when the action breaks out it's not enough to tide over fans of big body counts and massive explosions. There are also several moments of incredulity where the viewer is likely to say, "No way. That would never happen!" But that's o.k. I like Moore so much, and I always enjoy watching Anthony Hopkins go off the deep end, that I forgave the director and writer for not giving us a non-stop action flick. But if you're the sort of filmgoer who eschews character development and tension in favor of cartwheeling bodies and stuff blowing up, you'll likely chafe at the bit with this movie.
I'd like to the give the DVD presentation of the film five stars. I'd like to, but I can't for a couple of reasons. One, nary an extra graces the disc. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not even a trailer for the film. Ouch! I don't know why "ffolkes" received such shabby treatment, but it's undeserved in my opinion. Second, and probably more germane to the actual film, I didn't enjoy the movie quite as much as I did when I saw it back when I was a younger lad. Like I mentioned in a vague way above, I encountered several unbelievable situations and scenes during my latest trip through the movie. Yet "ffolkes" is still great, still a lot of fun, and definitely worth seeking out not only for Bond fans but Moore fans as well.
Movie Review: ffolkes with a 'fuh,' please. He's a cat-loving misogynist who wastes no time dispatching bad guys, sometimes with a spear gun
Summary: 4 Stars
"You really don't like women, do you?" ffolkes is asked. Rufus Excalibur ffolkes (Roger Moore) is an eccentric, misanthropic ex-British military officer who has his own team of highly trained underwater commandoes, ffolkes' fusiliers. He specializes in hostage rescue and anti-terrorism action, all immaculately planned and decisively executed. The bearded, curmudgeonly ffolkes favors Edwardian suits, does petit point and loves Scotch and cats. He's on a North Sea oil platform where Lou Kramer, a clever criminal (Anthony Perkins) who has hijacked the supply boat Esther which is moored below, has demanded 25 million British pounds or he'll blow the rig sky high. ffolkes got there because the British government could think of no one else who had a chance of thwarting Kramer's plan. If Jennifer, the production platform, and Ruth, a nearby drilling platform, which Kramer has mined are destroyed, a good deal of British North Sea oil production will go up in smoke with them. The plot is ingenious. But then, so is ffolkes. And he's prepared to be just as ruthless as the criminals. ffolkes has one advantage. His plans never go wrong. Almost never.
But back to ffolkes and women. "I do not!" ffolkes answers. "You see, I together with my five elder sisters was raised by my maiden aunt. Both my parents died tragically in childbirth. Until the age of ten I was forced to wear my sisters' hand-me-downs. Then when I married I discovered to my horror that my wife also had five sisters, all unmarried and all expecting my support. I find cats a far superior breed."
This clever, exciting adventure did only modest business when it was released, and was quickly forgotten by most. Too bad, because it's a well-made film which generates tension, has an unusual setting in the cold, stormy waters of the North Sea, and has some fine actors. Among the standouts are Anthony Perkins as the vicious, confident, and, of course, unstable Lou Kramer; James Mason as Admiral Sir Francis Brindsen, a stock figure at first but who, thanks to Mason's skill, turns into a character of barely noticed wry humor; and Michael Parks as Kramer's key henchman, possible lover and explosives expert.
Most of all, the movie depends on Roger Moore, and he delivers a dynamic and amusing performance of a man of action who'd be much happier in an earlier age. His complete self-confidence in his planning and his talents would be irritating if it weren't so well acted and expressed in lines so well written. "I suppose you're one of those fellows who does the Times' crossword puzzle in 10 minutes," says an irritated Admiral Brindsen after ffolkes offhandedly explained the meaning of a coded message the Admiral had just received from London. "I have never taken 10 minutes!" says ffolkes indignantly. Moore is perhaps underrated nowadays, but I think he was expert in light comedy and in amusing adventures. In my opinion, he is the second best by far of the James Bonds. (I haven't seen Daniel Craig.) Even aging a bit in the last couple, be brought style and insouciance to a franchise that was slowly going off the tracks. And yes, I'm a fan of A View to a Kill. Moore made this picture between Bond films and he plays against type.
The movie ends, as it began, with ffolkes clearly happy with his favorite companions. We had earlier met Mary, his tortoiseshell tabby. We leave ffolkes with an award from the British government, delivered to him in Scotland by the Prime Minister herself...three white kittens named Esther, Ruth and Jennifer.
For those unsure how to pronounce ffolkes, we may have to dig deep into Hitchcock. "I don't get the double 'F'," says American reporter Johnny Jones to Scott ffolliot, a man he's just met as they speed down a Dutch lane after an assassin.
"They're at the beginning," says ffolliot. "Both small 'F's."
"They can't be at the beginning," says Johnny.
Says ffolliot, "One of my ancestors was beheaded by Henry VIII. His wife dropped the capital letter to commemorate it."
"How do you say it, like a stutter?" asks Johnny.
"Just a straight 'fuh'."
Fuholkes is a well made, amusing adventure.