The Sea Wolves
June. 05,1981 PGA German spy is passing on information about the location of Allied ships in the neutral harbor of Goa, India, with catastrophic results. Unable to undertake a full military operation in the Portuguese stronghold, English intelligence brings out of retirement a crew of geriatric ex-soldiers, veterans from World War I, using their age as cover. These old soldiers are asked to take to the seas and pull off an unlikely undercover mission.
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Reviews
I love this movie so much
Sorry, this movie sucks
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
This affectionate wartime thriller sees a bunch of old timers meeting up for one final mission, their aim to destroy a trio of German ships that have been responsible for destroying many allied ships off the coast of India. It's a nostalgic movie that harks back to the good old days of derring-do and stiff upper lips, and I have to say that I enjoyed the feelings and memories it evoked. It's also pleasing to see a film entirely populated (for the most part) by "old" actors who prove themselves just as capable as their younger brethren.The film isn't perfect by any means and in fact it's rather rough around the edges: the running time is bloated and I would have preferred the exclusion of all the sub-plots surrounding Roger Moore's character. Moore is playing a Bond type in rather laborious subterfuge scenes in which he visits casinos, beds a beautiful woman (Barbara Kellerman, who went on to be the White Witch in the BBC LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE), has a few shoot-outs with German henchmen, and tracks a deadly traitor. Sadly, all of these moments are extraneous to the central plot and drag the pacing down. Moore is at his cheesy worst despite the presence of his twinkling blue eyes and he makes half the film feel like a sub-Bond outing.The scenes involving the gang of old codgers aboard their boat are far better and a lot of fun. I loved the way these aged heroes play against stereotype, raring to go and looking for action despite the creaks and groans. Gregory Peck adopts a fine British accent as the chief hero, and he's supported by a quite wonderful cast of familiar British faces: David Niven, Trevor Howard, Patrick Macnee, Patrick Allen, and Percy Herbert to name but a few. The actual storming of the German ship only takes place in the last twenty minutes of the film, but it's a riveting and action-packed climax and one that (rarely) doesn't disappoint.
(spoilers ahead) Although the cast was A list, the writing and direction was a bit over the top and cheesy at times, and hard to follow at other times. No matter how talented the cast, weak writing and direction still leave us with a mediocre story. Some of the cloak and dagger scenes were over-acted, to the point of being funny -- sort of like a kid trying to be sneaky, and we won't go into Roger Moore's love scenes, where he looked like he was puckering up to suck her face off.) However, of all the facets that detracted from an essentially good story, the campy musical score was at the top. It sounded like someone edited in some old background music used for a silent era film. I'm sorry, but playing upbeat or breezy music during a scene of intrigue or suspense tends to distract from the mood. Did the composer even score the music while the scenes played out in post-production? In the end, the film wound up looking like a low budget TV movie.
Sea Wolves with is star filled cast must have been a bit like the Sly Stallone led ensemble Expendables back when it was released.The splendid David Niven, the reliable Gregory Peck (Yes even with that accent) join the then current James Bond, Roger Moore lead a bunch of military vets on a dangerous mission.It tells the true WW2 story . The British must attack a German ship, that is saw in neutral waters. So the send ex soldiers who are now civilians and over 60 yeas old. The trouble with "The Sea Wolves" is that whilst the story itself is a very good one, and the cast is as good it is often shockingly slow. To the point of boredom at times, but also incredibly cheesy as it tries to inject a bit of humour (Moore's trademark as Bond) into this daring tale of veterans trying to sabotage German boats. Suddenly it ends up struggling to be average.My main problem wit this movie was Moore! I'm not sure his character is meant to be as funny as he seems. He dresses in tuxedo's, gambles in casino's, seduces women and is able to knock men unconscious with a single punch (all Bond trademarks) I suppose if you love his Bond you'll like it. But some of it is so ludicrous I wondered whether it was originally conceived as a spoof comedy.I have given this 5 stars for Niven and Peck, the action a scenes at the end and for the real heroes who this story is based on.Moore actually saved spoofing Bond for his next movie, the Burt Reynolds led ensemble Cannonball Run.
What a group of strange reviews. Granted, I am 69 but I just started watching tons of movies since retiring (we had no money growing up). Thank God for cable, especially TCM, AMC and the History Channel. (And to IMDb.com - the first favourite added to my desktop in 1994!)The fact that this is based on a true story made all the difference. Yes, life was like that back then.Re: Mr. Peck's accent - I've known plenty of Englishmen who sounded like that. What odd comments.The locations were great - nice to see something authentic. And I agree, the clothing could have been a bit less modern. Finances were tight all over during WWII.And to say these actors were past their prime! An actor is an actor is an actor - until physically or mentally impaired. (I've felt this way since high school so it is not just compassion for those now in my age group.)All in all, a satisfying experience.