Juggernaut
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Movie Reviews of Juggernaut
Movie Review: Juggernaut
Summary: 3 Stars
A entertaining but at times Mainly Boring British Predictable Disaster Genre flick riding the coattails of other movies of the same era,Sir Anthony Hopkins is good,Omar Sharif is good(even though he played the murderer Che in the movie of the same name.) If it was not so long and More Action it would have been better.Movie Review: the talkative demolitions expert . . .
Summary: 2 Stars
Unfortunately terrorism has today, become a very real part of everyday American life. Back in the 70's, this was not the case, however in Europe and England, the decade saw the rise of the phenomenon of terrorism, with the incident at the Munich Olympics, being one glaring example. In books and the movies, political thrillers, espionage, and terrorism were very hot topics. Some of the more noteworthy among many cinematic efforts during this period, were The Day Of The Jackal (1973), Two Minute Warning (1976), and Black Sunday (1977).
Set in Britain, Juggernaut (1974) is one of the early entries in the genre, and involves a threat to a luxury cruise ship, the Britannic. There are no political overtones, the mysterious bomber known as Juggernaut just wants money, in return for providing information on how to safely diffuse seven bombs that are aboard the ship. The shipping line is willing to pay the ransom, but is prevented from doing so by the Government, who send in a team of naval explosives experts led by Lt. Commander Anthony Fallon (Richard Harris) to disarm the bombs. Fallon is a vocal, confident type who enjoys rising to the challenge, and it turns out that he just happens to have a personal relationship with Juggernaut. The British government had a hard no negotiation stance regarding matters like the unrest in Northern Ireland, and that same attitude is reflected here in dealing with the terrorist treat.
This is not an action film. The few action sequences are mostly related to damage caused by the detonation of explosives. There are no shootouts. It's mostly about Fallon and his team. The most exciting thing they do is parachute from a plane, land in the ocean, and nearly drown boarding the ship.
Omar Shariff gets second billing as Alex Brunel the Captain of the Britannic, but as the commander of a ship that is turning circles, his role lacks real substance. The same can be said of the crew and passengers, and most of those on shore. Anthony Hopkins (The Silence Of The Lambs), Shirley Knight, and Clifton James (Live And Let Die), are among the many with little to do. Eventually the authorities develop a lead to Juggernaut's identity, leading to a confrontation of sorts with Fallon that takes place via radio.
With ample opportunities to pontificate about the task at hand, and engage bold outbursts, this role is tailor made for Richard Harris, an experienced thespian. Fallon's continuous babbling gets a little tiring, but he and for a while, team member Charlie Braddock (David Hemmings), are the only ones doing anything productive. While competently executed and perhaps "realistic", Juggernaut may be a little too slow for today's audiences, used to spectacular over the top action. The tone is low key, the dialog is often stuffy, and with no action scenes to speak of, this isn't a movie that grabs your attention.
A more entertaining film made around this same period that features terrorism aboard a ship, and also stars Richard Harris, is Golden Rendezvous (aka Nuclear Terror) (1977). It's not presently available on DVD, but is based on a 1962 novel by Alistair MacLean, and features David Janssen, John Vernon, and Harris's then wife, Ann Turkel. Another entertaining film involving terrorists at sea is Ffolkes (1979), starring Roger Moore and Anthony Perkins.
Movie Review: Only the last 30 minutes is the least bit entertaining
Summary: 2 Stars
Who are you people rating this four and five stars? I kept looking at the clock until finally in the last 30 minutes I became interested. Hokey. Predictable. Directing that inserts "gotcha-with-shock" silly juxtapositions right in the middle of scenes that interrupts the script and the audience's train of thought. No wonder the British film-making industry closed up shop. I am sorry I wasted my money on this film, and I got it used for $2.93! What a joke. The only reason I gave it two stars is because of the magnificent actors involved, but even they couldn't save it. I still think Omar Sharif is completely miscast as the ship's captain. Come on, folks. Just how did Freddie Jones manage to move all seven of those garbage cans-made-to-be-bombs down all those tight stairways into those small passageways? Seven? By himself? And what happened to his announcement that "one bomb explodes, they all do." Apparently not, since Richard Harris blew up two with no subsequent explosions. The only reason to buy and watch this movie is the actors. But even then it is a pain. FORGET THIS ONE.