Who Dares Wins

Since i'm going to be a Royal Marine Commando, this movie was very appealing. Not just for it's hardcore violence (Which I like), but also for the fact that my mother named me after the star of the film, Lewis Collins, which i'm pretty chuffed about.

Their has never been a movie that comes this close to showing the general public the SAS, their training, and their skills, which makes the movie so damn good.

One thing that i was a bit disappointed about, was the fact that if they had made the film 3 years later (1985), they (At the start when their in the mountains in Wales) would have been using the SA80 rifle, which is much cooler than the one they were using in the movie (The FN-FAL or something like that).

An overall wicked movie that I would recommend to anybody that's interested in the military, and who loves guns and violence!!!!!!

One of the more remarkable aspects about director Ian Sharp's garrote-taut hostage thriller is not only how well the gritty, flint-edged film holds up, but in today's divided world of political ferment, with clearly so little altered in the higher echelon's continued abuses of power, the crass media obfuscation, 'Who Dares Wins' (1982) continued relevance is additionally damning. Reginald Rose's lean, perfectly paced screenplay places our uncommonly heroic he-man Captain Peter Skellen (Lewis Collins) at the fulminating center of a well-funded, far from slumbering anti-nuclear terrorist cell, imperiously masterminded by intractable zealot Frankie Leith (Judy Collins) the unrelenting tension increases as Skellen embeds himself ever deeper into this murderous conspiracy, his covert solo mission fraught with myriad dangers, not only to himself, his lovely wife Jenny (Rosalind Lloyd) and new born baby Samantha but, perhaps, the continued peace of the western world. All too few action thrillers are both intelligent and unflinchingly bellicose, the exciting action is breathlessly swift and brutal, no slow-motion languor, precise, surgical, expeditious, kill or be killed, every retaliatory action timed to the millisecond and it is this coolly pragmatic take on violence that is so frequently fetishized today which not only proves immediately striking but exhilarating, while you are well aware this is merely splendidly made escapist entertainment, there is a glacial verisimilitude to the characters steadfast actions, and the morally 'grey' areas of both parties are expertly factored in, this isn't merely just another prosaic, spoon-fed, unquestionably good surmounting Evil, as both protagonist's relentless appropriation of extreme measures to justify their disparate means expose where such terrible power can be abused to suit secret, destructive agendas. 'Who Dares Wins' is a genuinely thrilling film and its classic status is greatly deserved, enlivened by a magnificently propulsive score by the inimitable genius Roy Budd, and never again will we enjoy such an exemplary cast assembled for our sublime cinematic edification: Judy Davis, Edward Woodward, Richard Widmark, with especially refined work by Tony Doyle as bluff, no nonsense Colonel Hadley (SAS), Ingrid Pitt as the terrifyingly tenacious Helga and a truly commanding performance by Lewis Collins who is extraordinarily vivid as indomitable SAS Captain Peter Skellen, effortlessly exuding the fascinating kind of steely integrity one only rarely sees today.

I read the book that inspired this film, 'The Tiptoe Boys,' and to be honest, I prefer the film to the book, which is unusual. The movie is a bit over-long, but the characters are quite well developed and the action sequences are among the best in any UK production and highly realistic. The legendary Roy 'Get Carter' Budd provides the score and we have a minor 80s action classic. Without doubt the assault at The Mews is outstanding and I will never forget the rush the first time I saw it. 'You don't muck (sic) about with the SAS...'

Yes, there is some cheesy acting, but the payoff in this film is excellent! After reading other commentaries on this film, I won't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't see the film when I say that it concludes with an accurate portrayal of special ops folks in action. But it is not only accurate, it is exciting, and well shot (love the view through the mask!). Combine accuracy and excitement and you have something that beats most of those other "special ops" films hands down. It makes Rambo et al seem downright nonsensical (which it is), and rightly so.

And as someone who studied in Europe for several years and saw the political far left in action on the streets of the major cities, I can tell you that many of them talked just like they do in the movie. And yes, the guerrilla theatre production lampooning the US is accurate, that type of theatre did take place.

Who Dares Wins is a top British action movie made in the early 80's. It's star Lewis Collins was very well known in the UK from the hit TV show "The Profesionals". It was certainly made to cash in on the famous Iranian Embassy siege a mere year before they released this, which was televised live in Britain as the SAS stormed the building. Who Dares Wins has certainly dated as all 80's action films have, but it has great action scenes and stunt work. Collins is good in this and perhaps would have made a good 007, I don't know if he ever tested for the role but his Bond would have been closer to Connery than any since. The story is very silly and some scenes like the "rock concert" are cringe worthy but the action makes up for it, with a superb siege at the end.