The Wild Geese Blu-Ray Review

Director: Andrew V. McClaglen

Starring: Roger Moore, Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Stewart Granger

Running Time: 130 minutes

Certificate: 15

Extras:  Audio commentary with Roger Moore, producer Euan Lloyd and second unit director John Glen, World Premiere Newsreel Footage, Original Trailer, Bonus Feature Film: CODE NAME: WILD GEESE, starring Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine and Klaus Kinski, directed by Antonio Margheriti aka Anthony M. Dawson, Reversible sleeve with original poster and newly commissioned artwork cover, Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the both films by Ali Catterall, co-author of your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties and writer James Blackford as well as a biography of producer Euan Lloyd, illustrated with original artwork.

Before the Avengers Assembled, there was THE WILD GEESE. James Bond (Roger Moore) teamed up with Dumbledore (Richard Harris) and Big Brother (Richard Burton) to save an imprisoned politician in Africa. However, rather than being recruited by Nick Fury, this band of elderly misfits are recruited by Hollywood legend Stuart Granger.

We know we are in for a wild ride when at the beginning of THE WILD GEESE, Richard Burton downs two whiskeys immediately in an opening exchange that felt like PREDATOR remade by the cast of LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE. However this band of coffin dodgers do not take prisoners (or have high jinks in a bath tub). Instead they shoot first and ask questions later. James Bond this isn’t. However for fact fans, there is a Bond connection. The opening titles are designed by Maurice Binder and John Glen (director and editor of many a Bond film) is the editor and second unit director.

When delving into the film you are left wandering why a rich banker would hire an elderly alcoholic and his band of middle aged military men to rescue an African politician. However these men are unique. Richard Burton plays Colonel Allen Faulkner, a real leader and a man respected by retired army men everywhere. Richard Harris plays Captain Rafer Janders, the best damn planner on the planet (who wears massively comical milk bottle lens glasses). Rafer is also a father and has promised his young son (who tragically can’t act) that he will take him on holiday for Christmas. A plan that is quickly abandoned to save the African leader for whom Rafer has political admiration.  Roger Moore plays Lt Shawn Flynn. A mercenary with a conscience who hates drugs (but has no problem with killing loads of people), smokes lots of cigars and can fly a plane. Surely nothing can stand in the way of this crack group of codgers? Well. Lots of people can, actually.

Sadly the film labours under the misapprehension that it is EPIC, where as in actual fact it feels very much like an early example of the kind of DTV fair that followed during the mid 1980’s (in fact WILD GEESE II would follow seven years later and bombed) where actors that were too old and should know better were dressed in army fatigues and sent to kill, when in actual fact they should be sent to Merhcant Ivory films and dressed in gold-buttoned blazers. The actors do as well as can be expected. Burton is on barking form, Richard Harris earns his spurs in one scene playing a drunk (imagine that was a one take scene) and Roger Moore is often the cheeky comic relief while he chomps on a cigar and dispatches enemies.

However there are moments of genuine pathos and some nice character moments that do work and serve the film well. There are other positives too, Roy Budd’s score is excellent and the opening and closing song by Joan Armatrading is really quite good.

Wild Geese? More like Angry Old Tits.

THE WILD GEESE is available on Blu-ray and DVD 8th October