2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

A Missed Opportunity for a classic

A Customer from Hayes, London, England, 6th November, 2006

After reading the books I eagerly awaited the release of this movie but to say I was sorely dissappointed would be an understatement. This was a chance to show the real humour of Spike milligan but it completely loses it all in the slapstick nature of the film. The characters are really just charactures and really that is how this film should be treated.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Carry On?

BarryNormansNephew from , 22nd July, 2005

Sadly I think an opportunity was missed to make a great film and not a bit of a slapstick almost carry on esque type of movie. It doesn't quite adhere to the book which was fabulous reading and if nothing else the film served as a timely reminder to read the memoirs of Spike Milligan again. He was a genius and sadly missed and the comedy mixed with the futility of war didn't work in this film- You have to watch M.A.S.H for such a film, which is a sad shame. Jim Dale did make a good effort though but as you know he went on to star in Carry On films which sadly that reflects all to easily in this

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

DISSAPOINTING

A Customer from england, 14th February, 2007

i switched of long before the end i thought it a load of rubbish In my opinion spke was a rare genius and this film was not in leguea with him a waste of time now i will be morecareful which films i choose Never even smiled at this altho some may like it

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Nothing for Hitler to worry about

A Customer from Edinburgh, 23rd October, 2009

Spike's original book is a hoot; but this adaptation, while it raises a chuckle from time to time, doesn't do it justice at all. Of course, when this film was made, the level of swearing and general filth in the book simply couldn't be reproduced in a mainstream movie, so they had no choice but to cut almost all of it. The trouble is, they've lost or greatly softened many of the best jokes. Another huge problem is that many of the incidents in the book are only funny because of the way they're described, and when you actually see them without Spike's commentary they fall rather flat. Jim Dale as the young Spike does his best, but the decision to portray him as a manic wacky guy in the Jim Carrey mould rather than the quite insecure person that, judging by the later books in the series, he obviously was makes him one-dimensional and at times quite annoying, and Spike himself looks very uncomfortable indeed trying to play his own father for laughs. And at one point, presumably in a failed attempt to launch Jim Dale as a singer, the sound-track includes a weedy and ridiculously anachronistic pop ballad that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and utterly ruins the illusion that we're looking at events taking place in 1940. Read the book instead - the images in your head will be much funnier than anything you'll see in this film.

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What a pity

essexboy from , 17th July, 2008

I was expecting this to be serious with heavy dose of humour, instead you get a rather silly film with a few lame jokes thrown

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Pants

David Walker from Bangor, Wales, 7th December, 2007

This film is utter pants. Makes Spike Milligan out to be possibly the most annoying person to ever have lived. They might as well have called this film Carry On Spike. Waste of time. So, so bad.

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