Wet Job

For fans of the original series of "Callan" this is disappointing. It is of course, fantastic to see Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter working together again but the very poor plot, stiff acting in parts and absolutely terrible incidental music makes this a poor effort overall I think.

Hugh Walters is very good as the new Hunter and George Sewell is also a great addition to this one off. Felicity Harrison plays the new Liz, albeit only for a few minutes. There are very few action scenes in this and is focused mostly on the life of Callan since leaving his old job and the sub-plot surrounding Callan's landlady is actually pretty dire.

Overall, it is worth seeing if you are a Callan and/or Edward Woodward fan, simply to find out what happened to the hero, but don't be surprised if you are disappointed by this episode - a great shame, but it is understandable why this is unlikely to shown again.

"Callan: Wet Job," was supposed to have led to another T.V series. Luckily, this didn't happen due to the poor ratings this episode received. The plot is dull, confusing and uneventful. The only scenes worth seeing, are those with Callan and Lonely. It is worth it to see these legendary characters together one last time after all the years that had elapsed. The chemistry of Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter is still in evidence as Lonely secures Callan another gun. When asked if he needs any further help, Callan pauses for a couple of seconds and answers in the negative. He urges Lonely to leave his shop immediately and that is it. Lonely walks off into the distance and we see the final curtain come down on one of British television's leading partnerships. There isn't any action or incident to speak of, just a meandering story.

Just a note to one of the other reviewers (rev-584-459122), Wet Job is NOT a remake of the original play A Magnum for Schneider, which formed the basis of the Callan movie. This is a sequel to the original popular TV series in which an aging Callan has been forcibly retired from the security services, but is reactivated for yet another job. Though the performances of Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter and some others aren't bad, it's very poorly made with a tenuous plot, frequently incompetent camera-work, and irritating incidental music. Having watched it when it was first shown and again recently on DVD I suspect the production was hurried and with a smaller budget than it should have had.

Looking at the reviews and comments there is a fact that seems to have slipped people's minds.

Wet Job is a remake of the original TV play "A Magnum for Schneider" that introduced us to the original Character of Callan.

As remakes go it's not bad and if you're feeling philosophical a nice close to the character.

That said like a lot of made for TV movies tastes have changed, production values improved.

But as a piece of nostalgia and a good introduction to Callan, and the very gritty 70s cold war spy Drama it's well worth a look.

Admittedly if Mission Impossible is more your thing then you're likely to be disappointed :D

Lacklustre drab and miserable. Amateur acting, dreadful , or was it just badly written screenplay , or was it just badly directed ? Which of those possibilities, or all of them ? Commplicated to the point of switch off and read a good book ! Admittedly I did not avidly follow Callan exploits back in the day so maybe , just MAybe this would have clicked as interesting ? After 30 minutes I opted out !