ianlouisiana Review of Juggernaut

Juggernaut (1974)

Mr Freddie Jones,the best movie psychopath ever?

[7/10 · 18 November 2007]

Mr R.Lester,darling of the 1960s,tries his hand at the disaster genre with "Juggernaut",a straightforward commercial piece with no artistic pretensions whatsoever.There is no tricksy editing,no zip pans,no speeded up action,none of his usual clever - clever accoutrements covering up a lack of substance,just a back - to - basics plot about a man who has planted a number of bombs on an ocean liner. This man is played by the great Mr Freddie Jones and it is the best portrayal of a psychopath I have ever seen in the movies.Forget the ludicrously overpraised Dr Lecter,"Juggernaut" is the madman's madman. Clever,conscience - free,ruthless,indistinguishable from the common herd,"Juggernaut" is a million miles from the showboating of Sir A. Hopkins and infinitely more dangerous as a result. Mr Jones gives the role a quiet confidence;it is a masterclass in emotional detachment and studied indifference. In contrast Mr Richard Harris - his former protégé in Bomb Disposal - starts out over the top and ends up out of sight as stage Oirishman Fallon,a man with a merry quip for every situation.He and his team of Jolly Jack Tars are parachuted onto the liner (losing one on the way who is last seen floating happily away on his back for all the world like a holidaymaker on a Lilo)to make the bombs safe. Rather cleverly Mr Lester creates suspense where none exists because it is blindingly obvious from the start that the liner isn't going to blow up and sink below the waves with nary a survivor. It would be fair to say I am not Mr Lester's greatest fan,but the sequences where Mr Harris - irritating though he is - slowly works his way round the booby traps hidden in the bomb are finely done. For no good reason I could think of Mr Omar Sharif plays the ship's captain.Mr Anthony Hopkins,before he became a national institution, is the cop tasked with feeling "Juggernaut"s collar.He is assisted by a number of actors who are clearly destined to end up in "The Sweeney",especially the episodes where they stand round breath steaming in the freezing cold waiting for the wheel to come off.... Mr Hopkins' wife and children are on board the liner,but he copes manfully with this extra burden and "Juggernaut" is well and truly nicked relatively early on so he can carry on a cat and mouse game with the Authorities.There are three token womens parts but mainly this is a blokes' movie,with plenty of tough love between Fallon and his lads and the stiff upper - lipped chaps at the Admiralty. There were many newspaper stories of on - board orgies involving the extras when the movie was released but there is precious little sign of life amongst any of them on screen,the whole tacky not quite top grade atmosphere of the sub - Cunard Atlantic crossings of the time is exactly captured. I enjoyed this movie.It came as a pleasant surprise that Mr Lester - when he isn't showing off appallingly - is more than capable of making a good old - fashioned entertainment movie with just that little bit of an edge.