Dad's Army

This review may contain spoilers!

This film reminds us that sometimes you shouldn't make a film adaptation of a great TV show. I would give Dad's Army a 4.5/10.

This film contains several scenes and instances that are quite whimsical, a few genuine moments where the mood of the film really perks up and reminds you of the great comedic potential this film has. The score for this film is quite unique, a great blend of the original music of the series alongside the fantastic strong tones of a modern blockbuster.

Michael Gambon, who played Private Godfrey, is one of the funniest actors in this film; his slow witted soldier lands so many amazing jokes in this film. Toby Jones, who played Captain Mainwaring, is a pretty good protagonist in this film; his comedic blundering creates a great new interpretation on the Mainwaring character.

However the best performance came from Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played Rose Winters. Zeta-Jones creates an amazing antagonist in this film, her elegant line delivery immediately seperates her from the rest of the cast. A big part of her playing an original character is what gives her the leg room to stand out and show up this tired ensemble cast. Her sarcastic jokes and mocking nature overshadows the film's heroes and sets Zeta-Jones apart as the best performance in the film.

This film is trainwreck in slow motion from start to finish, attempting almost a little too hard to replicate the magic of the original TV show. The humour in this film is otherwise poorly delivered or few and far between; more than that whenever the film attempts to reference the original series it almost completely fails to enhance the film. Dad's Army has a predictable plot with completely dislikeable characters, this is without a doubt one of the slowest comedies that I've ever seen. The cinematography is bland and rather simple, I don't think there are many shots in this film that even indicate a hint of consistent visual style. The special effects in this film are cringeworthy at best, just look at the CGI pigeon or aircraft to see what I'm talking about.

Bill Nighy, who played Sergeant Wilson, doesn't seem to be committing all that much to this film; he certainly doesn't portray the role of Wilson very well at all. Sarah Lancashire, who played Mrs Pike, has absolutely no chemistry with Nighy in this film; I was annoyed by the love triangle/affair plot between her, Nighy and Zeta-Jones. Tom Courtenay, who played Lance Corporal Jones, is another actor who couldn't quite bring to life his role; mind you Courtenay's role wasn't given focus until far too late into the film so that might play a part in it. Mark Gatiss, who played Colonel Theakes, didn't have much screen presence in this film; Gatiss didn't add much to the film and he certainly wasn't funny. Blake Harrison, who played Private Pike, gave what can only be described as a cringeworthy performance; his constant referencing to classic films grew very tired very quick. Daniel Mays, who played Private Walker, didn't really show much connection to the character he was playing; I can only be thankful he barely had any screen time. Bill Paterson, who played Private Frazer, wasn't given much focus in this film; Paterson had comedic talent but this film didn't give him the attention he deserved to show it. Holli Dempsey, who played Vera, was only in this film to give Harrison's role validation; I thought it was a cheap romance sub-plot at best. Felicity Montagu, who played Mrs Mainwaring, gave a very wooden performance in this film; there was a chance for this character to have been much more engaging if she had been better cast. Martin Savage, who played Warden Hodges, was a great antagonist from the show that just didn't translate well to film; I was disappointed immensely by Savage's role and performance.