La British Compagnie

As someone in his frisky fifties, I am old enough to remember the arrival on our British TV screens of the original Dad's Army back in 1968. I can still remember my dearly departed Dad with tears flowing down his cheeks at the antics of this motley crew of (mostly) old folks as they confronted the (mostly imagined) Nazi hoards. Now nearly 40 years after the last episode premiered comes another big screen version (a spin off film with the original cast came out in 1971).

For those reading this from other parts of the world that may need a little more explanation, Dad's Army refers to the British Home Guard - a group of old timers from the First World War and/or those otherwise unable to serve in the active fighting forces in World War 2. The Home Guard were to be the last line of defense in an invasion of the UK.

The plot of the new film is paper thin. It's 1944 and the Nazi's are desperate to understand the invasion plans of the Allied forces. They dispatch a spy - Agent Cobra - to the sleepy seaside town of Walmington- on-Sea to try to dig out the truth. At the same time, an attractive journalist in the shapely form of Catherine Zeta-Jones arrives in the town to do an article on the Home Guard unit, stirring up passions and relationship-disruptions as she goes. And that about sums it up! (Now, you'd have to be pretty clinically stupid after watching the trailer not to work out who the spy was going to be, and fortunately for the film this is not a secret that is left to outstay its welcome.)

As a standalone film it's a pleasant enough watch, but in the end a bit of a damp squib. It really only works as a strong dose of nostalgia for the characters from the original series. So the key demographic for this would be those over 50 or children under 12 who may also enjoy some of the farcical and knockabout humor.

Many of the cast are perfectly suited to their roles, as caricatures of the original cast. Toby Jones plays the pompous Mainwaring; Bill Nighy is the spit of Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson; Michael Gambon makes a fantastic Private Godfrey; and Blake Harrison (from "The Inbetweeners") is good as 'Stupid Boy' Pike. Toby Jones in particular excels in getting across the character of the puffed up and self-important Mainwaring. The quality of his acting is nicely brought home by a blooper shown over the end credits involving a mobile phone: Jones stays perfectly in character as he lambasts Private Godfrey.

It was also truly fantastic to see 84-year old Frank Williams reprise his role as the vicar. With Ian Lavender's cameo, one of only two of the original cast members to do so.

The one cast member that really didn't work for me was Tom Courtenay as Corporal Jones: an excellent actor, but not a good fit for this part. Jones (in the guise of Clive Dunn) was at the farcical comedy centre of the original series, but here all of his lines fall as flat as a deflated blimp.

The script manages to fabricate opportunities for most of the cast to utter their classic catchphrases, with some more successful than others. There is also a lack of chemistry between some of the cast, with the Mainwaring/Wilson class war not really working well: a classic line about Wilson speaking Latin falls to the floor like a dead weight as a result.

Directed by Oliver Parker, this is one mainly for the older fans of the TV Series. It's probably a 4* film at best, but the extra 2 *'s I give this one is for the heady dose of nostalgia and good memories from my youth.

(Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of this review. Thanks.)

As a die hard fan of Dads Army, I was miffed with the inaccuracies in this film, firstly they said Pike had flat feet which is why he wasn't in the regular army when we know the reason was because he had a rare blood group, also when Jones told Mainwaring he hadn't shot anyone because he was a cook In the Army was also incorrect as it was Frazer who was a cook in the Navy, if you are going to make a film of a well loved TV series at least get it right, also Toby Jones wasn't pompous enough as Mainwaring, you hardly were aware of Jones and Frazer, I loved Godfreys character played by Michael Gambon, you got him spot on, also Wilson was good. Why was the film about Catherine Zeta Jones, its called Dads Army and it should have been about Dads Army, sadly she wasn't needed and she bored me to death cos I wanted to see more of the main characters with their well known phrases, I class myself as a firm fan as I watch the TV series several times a week and never get bored of it. If there is a next time at least get a fan of Dads Army to write the script so as not to disappoint fans

As a Dad's Army fan (and with a keen interest in the history of the REAL Home Guard of 1940 - 44) I realised this was never going to 'measure up' to the original TV series. In fact I thought it was going to be terrible (!) but went along to see it if only to tick the box. It was better than I expected and it was a pleasant surprise. Sadly I think that Tom Courtenay 'killed' LCpl Jones's character with a very wooden performance. However, there was good effort from the other actors. I thought that Toby Jones (Mainwaring) dominated the screen when he appeared and captured Mainwaring's flaws (and attributes) very well. I enjoyed Michael Gambon's Godfrey very much, and Bill Nighy's Sgt Wilson was an interesting re- interpretation that was nicely done. There were other good performances too (e.g Mrs Pike etc).

As well as a some chuckles, there were touching moments, and I think it captured the ethos of the time well (patriotism, paranoia reference the enemy, 'all pulling together' etc). In all I would call it a pleasant film to watch, and a homage of some sort to the original series and the historical Home Guard.

It was a nice touch to set the film in 1944 when the Home Guard was becoming ever more irrelevant. The original series (many have surmised) only covered the historical period of 1940 - 42. I've always regretted that and would have like to have seen the series set over the full 1940-44 period with perhaps a single episode covering their return to civilian life in December 1944 to round it off. The last year would have been quite comedic as Mainwaring might have struggled to enthuse the men as they became less relevant to to the war, and quite touching too.

I wouldn't listen to too many negative reviews, the film is worth seeing. I'd rather it had been made than not, even if it only points people towards the original series and reminds them that the Home Guard was real and that they lost 1,200 people to enemy action in WW2 (mainly air raids while on duty etc), and also that although they never faced an invasion (a real concern in 1940-41) they didn't know that at the time, but they volunteered anyway.

I have waited with baited breath to see this, I hate to say I was one of the people that slated this and wrote it off beforehand, but I must admit it was a bit of a pleasant surprise. The TV show was magical, and watched in this household quite often, the catchphrases are iconic and still used to this day.

The old charms of the sitcom were lacking I guess, not really much in the way of slapstick humour, it was nicely funny, in a kind of quaint, slightly dated way, I enjoyed it more so for the nostalgia, it didn't have me belly laughing at any point, but I kept on thinking it's DAD's ARMY, just enjoy it.

Largely well acted, Toby Jones and Bill Nighy were both great, they bounced off each other well and were a funny, effective duo. Tom Courtenay was OK, just felt a little miscast, I'm sure if another film is made he could get further into the role. One of my favourite showings from the ever lovely Catherine Zeta Jones too, she's definitely still got it.

The plot was a little on the thin side some will argue, overall it was just a nice, easy to watch film. 7/10

I grew up with the 1968 series Dads Army. It sat cheerily alongside other quality Brit comedies in a similar vein, such as It Ain't Half Hot Mum and complimented top US military comedy shows, such as Hogans Hero's.

That said, much as I desperately wanted to love the new film based on this wonderful series it simply lacks the clever comedic wit and wry humour of its predecessor. Indeed, it would be fair to say it comes armed with everything except humour. This film offers up great sets, a good choice of location, excellent costumes, a predictable but not unlikable story and a stellar cast.

Sadly, that's about it. The comedy is thin on the ground and a good portion of any humour there is amounts to very innocuous, mildly sexual jokes, mostly directed at Catherine Zeta Jones, spy character. "Did you slip her a sausage?" one woman asks Jones the butcher.

Simply put, this is such a terrible waste. A more polished script, infused with comedy of the period and maybe a few new twists, could have seen this film shine, paying homage to a wonderful series I can still happily watch 47 years later. Instead, what you get, is weak tea without the sugar. I'm sure Arthur Lowe's, Captain Mainwaring, would not have been impressed. Four out of ten from me.