Having already been aware of the story through seeing the 1956 version 'The Man Who Never Was' as well as reading about it, I was intrigued to see what a new release would do with it.
With the marketing showing a high-calibre British cast, it certainly gives you a feeling of a guaranteed worthwhile viewing experience.
From the very beginning, you feel so comfortable. That instant wholesome British vibe is just so welcoming at a cinema screening.
Everything about it moves a long at a gentle pace and you have a top British cast doing what they do best.
There are some clear additions to the story to try and over dramatize it, which didn't feel necessary for me. But there was still enough interest in the task at hand to keep me invested despite it almost trying to take you away from the main plot which felt strange.
The ensemble cast do a good job in fleshing out these characters and making them engaging. Even though Colin Firth looks like he is putting in a performance we have seen many times, it remains to be one that still works well. Matthew Macfadyen's support and chemistry with Firth was great and the longer the film went, the more I was enjoying Macfadyen on screen and made me remember how good he was in 'Frost vs. Nixon'.
Kelly McDonald completes the trio with some nice back and forth and proof that she can compete with the elite of British acting.
Johnny Flynn made the most of his character that will interest a lot of people, Penelope Wilton was as good as always and there was a mini reunion from 'Death Of Stalin' with the additions of Jason Isaacs and Simon Russell Beale which was nice.
As expected, the general look is very good. That 1940's look to London was great to look at and the added soundtrack was the icing of the cake for a very strong production design.
There were a few issues I had with it sadly. The sub-plots that were added for dramatic effort felt unnecessary considering the actual story itself should have plenty of content to play with. It also felt a bit too casual for what the story consists of. It does play to target audience. But it does it in a way that I felt was even too light and soft.
So with other recent British war films raising the level of the genre such as Dunkirk, Testament Of Youth, Darkest Hour and The Imitation Game, it is a hard level to match. But to be brutally honest, films like that will have you not remembering this one for very long.
Don't worry, It's a perfectly fine film that will get a decent rating from me. It moves along nicely with good performances and is thrilling and tense enough to keep you interested. But with its sub-plots trying to add some unnecessary additions to the already interesting story, it almost doesn't want to invest in the truth of the story as they feel audiences would be bored by it.
If my review has you feeling cautious, then I would check out 'The Man Who Never Was' instead, as I feel that remains the superior portrayal of this incredible war story.
Rating: 7/10
John Madden’s remake of Operation Mincemeat and Ben Macintyre’s novel make for great viewing and reading. The Madden film is based on Macintyre’s novel, and they are both a fake news aficionado’s paradise when it comes to trying to differentiate layer after layer of fact and fiction. Nevertheless, as with many war or espionage thrillers like the Ipcress File it's a shame the film industry is producing yet more remakes. If success is to breed success the film industry must not polish old gems but mine for new ones. In these genres, examples of such new gems include Mick Herron’s Slow Horses from the Slough House stable and Beyond Enkription, the first fact based spy thriller in The Burlington Files series by Bill Fairclough. The celluloid adaptation of Slow Horses looks destined to become an anti-Bond classic. As for The Burlington Files let’s hope the film industry hears of it. Not being a remake this enigmatic and elusive thriller may have eluded you.
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