Which does not really work. I remember Biggles being heavily marketed in comics like The Eagle and The Transformers back in 1986. I don't remember watching in the cinema but I caught it on TV or VHS a few years later. I think I might have a sticker album as well.
As a straightforward WW1 action flick (or maybe even taking a cue from Aces High or Dawn Patrol) Biggles might have worked. Authentic locations, good combat scenes, a mysterious but plausible secret weapon, his cast of ever reliable 'chums'. We even have an arch nemesis in the shape of Erich von Stalhein, while the fair Maria (of Allo Allo fame) provides an intriguing love interest / spy angle - something that was rarely considered in the original books (which I have not read).
Unfortunately, all of this was sidelined in a rather silly (to my eyes now!) time travel plot used solely to drag in a clutch of clichéd Americans and comedy Eighties set pieces - all of which have dated badly indeed. If Neil Dickson is an effective Biggles, and Peter Cushing shines as a dignified Colonel Raymond, then Alex Hyde - White reacts to the action and bedlam with all the emotion of racing result.
But I'm not going to be too harsh here. There's lots of fun to be had, just as there was all those years ago. Just switch your brain off, accept the implausibility and chocks away!!
As a straightforward WW1 action flick (or maybe even taking a cue from Aces High or Dawn Patrol) Biggles might have worked. Authentic locations, good combat scenes, a mysterious but plausible secret weapon, his cast of ever reliable 'chums'. We even have an arch nemesis in the shape of Erich von Stalhein, while the fair Maria (of Allo Allo fame) provides an intriguing love interest / spy angle - something that was rarely considered in the original books (which I have not read).
Unfortunately, all of this was sidelined in a rather silly (to my eyes now!) time travel plot used solely to drag in a clutch of clichéd Americans and comedy Eighties set pieces - all of which have dated badly indeed. If Neil Dickson is an effective Biggles, and Peter Cushing shines as a dignified Colonel Raymond, then Alex Hyde - White reacts to the action and bedlam with all the emotion of racing result.
But I'm not going to be too harsh here. There's lots of fun to be had, just as there was all those years ago. Just switch your brain off, accept the implausibility and chocks away!!