AGE OF HEROES

UK, 2011, 93 minutes, Colour.

Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Aksel Hennie, Izabella Miko, James D'Arcy, William Houston, John Dalgleish.

Directed by Adrian Vitoria.

During World War II there were many stories of military action, spying, propaganda. And, they formed a staple, especially in England, of movie entertainment in the 1950s. Age of Heroes is very much in this vein 70 years later.

The screenplay follows the general pattern of those old films so we know, more or less, what to expect, except that these are in colour, have saltier language then the films of the past, and have some exciting location photography.

The film has for centres of action, the first with a group of soldiers in occupied France, May 1940, under attack, the small group surviving with their corporal, Rains (Danny Dyer) making decisions and falling foul of a superior officer. The next setting is prison, for those accused of cowardice, drilling, treated harshly by those in charge.

An officer arrives to take away one of the inmates, is confronted by Rains who wants to be a commando. And, eventually, he does. The officer, played by Sean Bean, is in charge of an operation, in collaboration with the Navy authorities, especially Fleming, played by James D’Arcy. The group chosen, including Rains who is at first targeted and challenged, does the expected hard training in Scotland.

And the main action is in Norway, the commandos landing, the plane on fire and crashing. The target is a German radio installation, to get the information and documents, destroy the installation, get out of the country. The snowy Norwegian landscapes always look impressive. The Germans are very familiar in their attitudes and behaviour from those old films. And there are Norwegian loyalists, and a very grim sequence where their leader pleads for their lives, and German soldier filming everything, their being lined up and all shot.

A mixture of the commando troop, some clashes with a local Norwegian soldier, but, ultimately, the kind of action we expect, and a reminder of as the title suggests, war heroism.

It is interesting to note that the film is based on an episode led by the future writer of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming.

1. Ambitious title? World War II, special commando squads, the background of Ian Fleming? Dramatisation of a true story?
2. The French settings, may 1940? UK, military prison? The Scots training sequences? The action in Norway, the snowclad landscapes? The musical score?
3. The basic formula for World War II action films, in the past, in the 21^st century? The appeal of war action films, patriotism, heroics?
4. The setting, the French sequence, the isolated group, the Germans, deaths, the encounter with the main group, Rains and his leadership, confrontation with the officer, arrested, prison?
5. The prison sequences, the rough treatment, the offices, physical abuse?
6. The authorities, Jones, his visit to the camp, taking the injured man away, the confrontation with Rains? His visit to Fleming, the Navy, the collaboration, the plan?
7. The choice of the men, Rains included, his friend, going to Scotland, the rigour of the training, targeting Rains, but his being included in the group?
8. The meeting with the authorities, the explanation of the mission, Norway, the tower and the information, the Germans, the Norwegian Patriots? The flight, the fire, crash landing?
9. The details of the mission, travelling the terrain, the snow on the mountains, morale amongst the men, the encounter with a local group, the female soldier, aggression towards her? Working together, over the mountains?
10. The Germans, their presence, the Norwegians, helping, the Germans rounding them up, for information, the plea not to kill the family, their all being lined up, shot, everything filmed?
11. The final confrontation, the strategies, the battle, shooting, the pursuit, the capture, the final fights, survival and escape?
12. The information to London, Fleming and his decisions, the rescue?
13. The finale, the sense of achievement, and the title of the film?