First Take: The Great Escaper - a quiet way for Sir Michael to bow out from cinema

SYNOPSIS: Bernard Jordan escapes from his care home to attend the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France.

It’s a true story so bonkers that two films are being made about it - one of them is a Pierce Brosnan lead vehicle, the other, is this one, one where two British icons bow out from respective careers - but emotions aside, The Great Escaper is a perfectly fine, if a little undercooked for what it is trying to do.

Oliver Parker is in charge of this 1 hour 36 minute film, and he seems to have become very well versed in war stories (having helmed the 2016 version of Dad’s Army), creating a film that gets the emotional bits relatively spot on, but struggles to find a properly coherent style - one minute it’s him on the journey, the next, it’s a flashback to some rather raunchy stuff for a 12 certificate. Where it ultimately falls a little short is William Ivory’s script - as much as this is a BBC Films production, it does feel a little too much like a TV movie for its own good, which is a shame as this is the man who wrote Made in Dagenham. Christopher Ross does a decent job behind the camera, and Craig Armstrong’s score is good enough for a mid-budget British film of this nature.

Now, the performances - arguably the key USP of this film - the final work for the late Glenda Jackson, and if he stays true to his word, the final film of Sir Michael Caine’s illustrious career before retirement. And when have these two ever put a bad performance in? Supporting them is Wolf Kahler, John Standing, Carlyss Peer, Danielle Vitalis, Laura Marcus and Will Fletcher, and together, this small cast do enough to take what was a pretty middle of the ground script and make it feel relatively wholesome (if not for an advert pre-film kind of spoiling a pivotal moment in the final act).

THE VERDICT

For a film billed as Sir Michael’s last before retirement, The Great Escaper may not be the greatest, but it just about gets the job done - and yes, we do get to hear him drop an F bomb in a pretty relaxed 12 certificate manner. Surely worth the price of admission on its own.

RATING: 3/5