Dad's Army (2016) Film Review

Dad's Army is something of a cultural icon as far as British television goes. Starting in the late 1960s and running for a total 80 episodes (alongside a 1971 feature film and a later stage play), the war-time sitcom remains a staple of BBC scheduling with repeated episodes on BBC Two remaining a hit amongst its viewers – and more recently garnering traction for an animated recreation of a missing episode – meaning that a new feature film adaptation with a new all-star cast was a probable move for the people at Universal Studios; a sure-fire way of at least gaining the attention of UK audiences (especially the older demographic, who've managed to make a franchise out of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) while involving a slew of British talent to attract foreign audiences. But whether it'll keep audience attention for a new TV reboot is anyone's guess, and the trailers haven't exactly highlighted superb material in store. 

England 1944 – the Second World War is reaching its final days, but the Nazis haven't given up quite yet as they dispatch a number of spies to send off intel about the British fleet. When one such message escapes MI5's grasp via carrier pigeon and ends up in the quaint town of Walmington-on-Sea, the war finally seems to reach the incompetent home guard troops that reside there – lead by Toby Jones' Captain Mainwaring. With the troop already suffering from low morale and often ridiculed by the main army and some of the town's residents, it’s the arrival of Rose Winters (Catherine Zeta-Jones) – a supposed journalist writing a piece about the home guard – that starts to spark the attention of the entire town, including its attention-seeking captain and his sergeant Wilson (Bill Nighy), who has a past with her as her former teacher back during university. So begins a series of antics and occasions brought about by the Nazi menace and the ideology of playing a real part of the war. 

As far as TV adaptation-based stories go, this one is rather tame; keeping to the basic setting and scenery of the classic sitcom while adding new elements in an attempt to give the adventure a grander feel to it. That said, it's comes across more like a TV movie than as a cinematic experience due mostly to how generic the story is and how long it takes for certain aspects to start coming to fruition – while the opening quickly sets up the conceit and characters of the original series for old and new viewers, the introduction of Zeta-Jones and her character's persona takes up a good hour of the movie in which the audience can easily guess her purpose (it was obvious in the publicity too, making the mystery all the more disinteresting) before letting off to the army themselves that there's a Nazi menace in their town, at which point follows another 20 minutes or so of presumptions before a final battle in which the platoon finally get to show off their skills against the enemy. 

Granted, it's all for comedic effect, and fans of the classic series will likely be further enamoured by the references to the original series to ignore such flaws, but it does lead to a film that doesn't feel much like a film – more of a 100 minute TV pilot for a reboot. But that doesn't mean it's a terrible plot, just simply an overdone one that doesn't venture that far out in terms of originality. Also, the comedy is a tad standard while still keeping wholly British. Not every joke lands (even by my high tastes) but certain performances and deliveries will be enough to warrant at least a chuckle in some respects. With a PG certificate, don’t expect it to be on the same gratuitous levels as fellow British TV-to-film productions The Inbetweeners or Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie (aside from a butt shot), so while it may not hit all the right notes it does at least keep to the original series' pedigree.

As the Captain of the unit, Toby Jones is very likable, capturing a somewhat pretentious iteration of the captain and who seems to take every compliment as far as he can. He interacts with his fellow officers rather well and the overly-smitten portrayal of his character around Zeta-Jones does at least have good entertainment value. Bill Nighy is great as ever, as despite his somewhat bland storyline revolving around a love triangle of sorts not really getting much depth and being largely one-sided, as though the mystery behind Miss Winters is a conclusive enough reason. Zeta-Jones herself gives off a performance which comes across more as a pay check than anything and with a character who's barely expanded upon aside from her true intentions. Blake Harrison as Pike is a blend between his character from The Inbetweeners (making him ideal casting) and a dumber Danny Pudi from Community through his constant character work; Tom Courtenay only starts getting things to do in the third act but is pleasant enough; Michael Gambon plays the doddering old man role well to the point where he may be the MVP of the piece; Daniel Mays as the Del Boy member isn't really given much interesting to do aside from be in nearly every scene he can be placed in; Mark Gatiss as a colonel is given little to do aside from a number of "got to go do something something" lines; Bill Paterson is practically invisible; and all the female players bar Zeta-Jones are there solely as something to be suspicious of the new girl in town, complete with the now-tiring notion of the men mocking them because "she's a woman!" - an understandable notion and one desperately needed in films nowadays as society begins to develop but done so obviously that it feels a bit wrong. 

Dad's Army is an admirable attempt at reviving the hit BBC franchise and likely feels authentic enough for old fans to be appealed by it. And with a large all-star cast, there is an understandable reasoning behind all the hype. But alas, thanks to its by-the-number plot and minimal hits with its jokes, this film portrayal of the infamous division will likely be forgotten in years to come; imagined as a failed TV special of sorts through its nature, small-scale production value and direction from Oliver Parker. It's a safe harmless movie, but not entirely a noteworthy one bar its significance in British culture. 5/10.