British actioners with the pizazz of Hollywood are thin on the ground. When one turns up, it’s to be applauded. Mercifully unsullied by British cinema’s love affair with social realism, this is escapist fare far superior to recent staid Bond efforts. Dominic Cooper struts his stuff as an SBS operative, there’s a ruthless baddie and an MI6 mole. The action includes a car chase in Rome, a boat chase in London and stunts with a double decker bus. Simon West (Con Air, The Expendables etc.) knows how to direct action (see DVD Extras for a ‘making of’ feature). Sure, it’s derivative, clichéd and by-the–numbers, with the usual orchestral muzak score, but it’s more fun to watch than most British films. Go, go, go!
like a bad episode of the original A-team (remember them?) Derek Jacobi must be in dire straits indeed to appear in this, although he was only in the whole film for a few minutes, it was the best thing about it. truly dreadful.