The movie borrowed very heavily from scenes lifted unedited from the movie 633 Squadron, which was produced five years prior to this film. While those who had never seen the earlier movie would not have noticed, for anyone who did, the way those scenes were lifted were lazy, and entirely needless.
The story was a mixed bag. Some aspects of the storyline were quite excellent, based somewhat on an actual, and quite famous Mosquito mission. In hindsight, the producers should have simply centered the mission plot entirely and faithfully on that actual mission, vice take from it a central theme but warp it into something else.
While not wishing to divulge basic plot spoilers, the way in which the story was written was simply over the top in terms of portraying RAF senior commanders as heartless, to the point of being draconian. The idea that an RAF Air Vice-Marshall would show such utter disregard for the lives of their aircrew was a great disservice to those actual commanders.
By the year 1969, when this movie was made, it was no longer in vogue to portray nearly all German officers as monsters, and yet this movie did exactly that. One can also quibble with the portrayal of SS officers commanding RAF POW's, when it was a strict rule, even within Nazi Germany, that the Luftwaffe ran POW camps with Allied airmen as prisoners.
For a movie that got this reality entirely correct, compare The Great Escape to this movie, and one will appreciate the great difference.
Again, an entirely faithful telling of the actual Mosquito bombing mission, named Operation Jericho, which this movie was strongly based upon, would have actually fit the movie's plot much better. It seems the producers were compelled to introduce another moral play into the film, and in doing so, the film lost its way. Ironically, nearly the same sort of special mission was flown by actual RAF Mosquito crews in Denmark at the end of the war. That mission would have also been an excellent plot focus for this film. But, sadly, the producers went a different way, and in doing so, harmed the movie greatly.
The special effects and aerial scenes were well produced and were the highpoint of the movie. Had the scenes from the previous 633 Squadron not been clumsily spliced in, the overall effort for the flight segments would have been top notch.
The story was a mixed bag. Some aspects of the storyline were quite excellent, based somewhat on an actual, and quite famous Mosquito mission. In hindsight, the producers should have simply centered the mission plot entirely and faithfully on that actual mission, vice take from it a central theme but warp it into something else.
While not wishing to divulge basic plot spoilers, the way in which the story was written was simply over the top in terms of portraying RAF senior commanders as heartless, to the point of being draconian. The idea that an RAF Air Vice-Marshall would show such utter disregard for the lives of their aircrew was a great disservice to those actual commanders.
By the year 1969, when this movie was made, it was no longer in vogue to portray nearly all German officers as monsters, and yet this movie did exactly that. One can also quibble with the portrayal of SS officers commanding RAF POW's, when it was a strict rule, even within Nazi Germany, that the Luftwaffe ran POW camps with Allied airmen as prisoners.
For a movie that got this reality entirely correct, compare The Great Escape to this movie, and one will appreciate the great difference.
Again, an entirely faithful telling of the actual Mosquito bombing mission, named Operation Jericho, which this movie was strongly based upon, would have actually fit the movie's plot much better. It seems the producers were compelled to introduce another moral play into the film, and in doing so, the film lost its way. Ironically, nearly the same sort of special mission was flown by actual RAF Mosquito crews in Denmark at the end of the war. That mission would have also been an excellent plot focus for this film. But, sadly, the producers went a different way, and in doing so, harmed the movie greatly.
The special effects and aerial scenes were well produced and were the highpoint of the movie. Had the scenes from the previous 633 Squadron not been clumsily spliced in, the overall effort for the flight segments would have been top notch.