James Bigglesworth aka Biggles was the hero of a series of 98(!) adventure books written by Captain WE Johns. They followed his adventures as a pilot, starting with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, and continuing with post-war adventures as a commercial pilot. There was a TV series in the 60s, but the character was never strongly represented on screen until this movie.
Let me say at the start that Biggles himself, his much-loved supporting cast (Algy, Bertie and Ginger), the World War I setting and the flying are all perfectly satisfactorily delivered to the screen. Had that been all there was to it, I would have had no hesitation in reporting that this movie was a success.
But then we hit the three major negatives. One is the half-*ssed time travel plot. Completely unnecessary and, frankly, not very good. Two, Alec Hyde-White as present-day protagonist Jim Ferguson has more body hair than charisma. And, three, the synthesiser soundtrack music is probably the worst film music ever. No, make that "definitely", not "probably" - synths just do not go with WWI dogfights.
I also observe the roaring fire in Peter Cushing's secret headquarters within Tower Bridge, and I wonder where the smoke went since, to the best of my knowledge, there are no chimneys in Tower Bridge.
Let me say at the start that Biggles himself, his much-loved supporting cast (Algy, Bertie and Ginger), the World War I setting and the flying are all perfectly satisfactorily delivered to the screen. Had that been all there was to it, I would have had no hesitation in reporting that this movie was a success.
But then we hit the three major negatives. One is the half-*ssed time travel plot. Completely unnecessary and, frankly, not very good. Two, Alec Hyde-White as present-day protagonist Jim Ferguson has more body hair than charisma. And, three, the synthesiser soundtrack music is probably the worst film music ever. No, make that "definitely", not "probably" - synths just do not go with WWI dogfights.
I also observe the roaring fire in Peter Cushing's secret headquarters within Tower Bridge, and I wonder where the smoke went since, to the best of my knowledge, there are no chimneys in Tower Bridge.