Adrian Vitoria’s Age of Heroes depicts the events which led to the formation of British 30th Commando Unit & its first operation in Norway during the eve of World War II.
Plot : The movie starts with the Battle of Dunkirk where a small surviving unit of British soldiers under the command of Corporal Rains tries to find their way to the ongoing Dunkirk evacuation. However being mistaken as deserter by a high ranking British officer, Rains & his unit gets circulated back to military prison for transgression. At prison he befriends an inmate who reveals to be once the member of the lately formed elite forces. Shortly after escaping the prison Rains gets inducted into the commando training program under the vigilance of Major Jones. After enduring the dehumanizing program Rains & his group gets called for their first assignment. The mission was to parachute into occupied Norway; raid & gather intelligence on a German Radar installation which happened to be far advanced than the allied machinery. Yet things never go according to plan; on landing into the enemy territory Jones' unit find themselves against an unforeseen enemy who seems to jeopardize the entire mission.
Taking into consideration the small budget on which this movie was made, the close combat action sequences were quite realistic & gritty. Sean Bean as Major Jones delivered a persuasive role. Other castings with creditable performance were William Houston as Sgt. Mackenzie & Aksel Hennie as Steiner who is also well known for his performance in the Norwegian war biopic Max Manus. Only thing which was sort of downer was the usual portrayal of German soldiers as viscous killers & although their atrocity on civilians were shown to full extent their infantry tactics were displayed imperfectly thus contradicting the historical fact they were bona fide first-rate fighters. I don’t know much about the authenticity of Operation Grendel shown in this film; still as a war movie this might do just well. With limited funding Vitoria’s movie delivers the story but lacks in intensity which is essential for keeping viewers engrossed.
My Rating : 6.5/10
Note : This is my 100th Article; I would like this opportunity to extend my thanks to all my readers.
I would say we agree more or less, although I found the beginning painful but thought after that it was quite gripping.
ReplyDeleteI don't rate movies very often but on a 0-10 scale I would probabaly have given it a 7.