Wild Geese Blu-ray Review

• 3rd Oct 2012

A group of British mercenaries are hired by a murky merchant banker to rescue Julius Limbani, a deposed African leader. The plan, seemingly straightforward is scuppered early on and the men are stranded in Africa. Realising they are on their own, they use their ingenuity and military experience to get Limbani and themselves out before an African army descends and kills them all.

I’m a little torn with the film, it’s fairly enjoyable in a Sunday-afternoon sort of way, but it’s not impressive. The ideals that they talk about in the film seem out of kilter with the hammy script, and are never convincingly explored. It all seems rather dated, even for the time it was made (1978). From Queenie, the camp’s camp ‘Murse’ to the racist South African (who changes his ways), the stereotypes hit you thick and fast. Some of the dialougue is pretty ripe, especially early on in the film, but things improve somewhat once they get to Africa.

However, I must admit that the last twenty minutes are pretty surprising and it certainly feels like a different film. The clichés are largely forgotten and we get a very unpredictable storyline. If you can get through the first half of the film you might as well keep going to the end, which is pretty good. It involves a banker getting his comeuppance, which I suppose makes the film fairly well-timed.

If you were a fan of the film the first time round, the blu-ray quality won’t disappoint. The special features include a Movietonews from 1978 about the premiere and after-party. It also includes another full-length feature Code Name: Wild Geese. Make no mistake, this film is dire and the dubbing is so bad, I initially thought it might be a comedy.  The feature commentary gives a pretty comprehensive account of the history of the making of Wild Geese and is worth listening to for Roger Moore’s dulcet tones alone.

Maliha Basak