Dad's Army (2016) - Written Review

Dad's Army has become something of cultural icon of British Television. Originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft in 1968, Dad's Army is up there as one of the most iconic British TV shows of all time, and almost 40 years since the series ended, it seems almost right to introduce such a classic to a new generation.

It's 1944 and the Warmington-On-Sea Home Guard are preparing for invasion. The Guard, led by Captain Mainwaring, consist of Sergeant Wilson, Lance Corporal Jones, Private Frazer, Private Godfrey, Private Pike and Private Walker - and are chosen to be the subject of an article by Rose Winters - a newcomer to the town. Meanwhile, MI5 has been tracking down a spy in Warmington-On-Sea, and bring Mainwaring into the investigation to help win the war and prevent the Germans from gaining sensitive military information...

I suppose there's always one big problem when approaching an adaptation of such a fondly-remembered classic television series and that is the cast. How can you re-cast such a memorable and iconic set of characters? Well, Dad's Army does pretty well.

Toby Jones feels almost born to play Mainwaring, very much making the part his own whilst also staying true to the character. He gets some of the biggest laughs in the film, but remains as a very likeable character. It would be easy to make Mainwaring very irritating, but Jones pulls it off so well you forget that he isn't the first actor to play the character!

We also have Michael Gambon as Godfrey, Blake Harrison as Pike, Bill Paterson as Frazer, Daniel Mays as Walker and Tom Courtenay as Jones, who are all fantastic in their respective roles. They all seem to be having a lot of fun and really get into character, but the real weak link in terms of the main cast is Bill Nighy as Wilson. Not that I think Nighy is a bad actor, or even bad in this film, but I never felt like he actually became the character of Wilson. He just seemed to be doing his usual Bill Nighy role, and thus stood out against the rest of the cast - and not for the right reason. The rest of the main cast really seemed to embody their characters, but Nighy just doesn't, which proves to be a bit of a shame really.

There's also a plethora of other supporting characters, all played by very entertaining actors and actresses who seem to be having a lot of fun in this film, but it's also worth mentioning Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rose Winters. Her character is very difficult to get right in the film, as she doesn't get any real laughs and mostly acts as a foil for the Home Guard's comedic moments, and thus could prove to be quite a dull character. While I do think that they could have given her some funny moments, Zeta-Jones does everything she can with the role, so credit where credit is due - she just doesn't get much to work with.

The script is filled with laughs, from plain old slapstick humour to quick quips from the characters, and almost all of it sells - thanks to the cast. Another combination of actors might not have had the perfect comic timing that this cast has, and you really do get a sense of the comradeship within the Home Guard. There's lots of classic Dad's Army moments, and some familiar lines to keep fans of the original series happy, while also keeping true to the spirit of the original in its storyline.

The problem, however, lies in that this movie...doesn't quite work as a movie. Don't get me wrong, the production values and all-star cast make this Dad's Army movie feel like a movie, but the story threads in this film feel like they would all work better in a television series than a motion picture. Some scenes really do feel like padding, and the film occasionally grinds to a halt to get the running time over an hour. So much in this film could be cut entirely and it wouldn't lack much. This being said though, Dad's Army wouldn't have this problem with several half-hour episodes.

Dad's Army manages to retain a sense of charm throughout though, and while I don't agree with some critics who are saying that this film is terrible, I don't think it's perfect at all.

Overall, Dad's Army is a movie that tries - and almost succeeds. It's very funny, very well-cast and despite being a small-budget British film, has excellent production values throughout (the 1940's aesthetic is brilliantly re-created here) and is a very well-made film. There aren't any standout musical cues, other than the theme of course; and there are no jaw-dropping shots or directorial moments, but this is a film with care and thought put into the production.

Ultimately though, Dad's Army feels like it is padding itself out to sustain its feature film running time, and the story would work better if spread out as several episodes of a television series, as opposed to cramming everything the writers could into one, hundred-minute movie.

Saying this though, it's easy to just sit back and have fun with Dad's Army. It's not perfect and while I have some other minor nitpicks, I do think it's well worth a watch.

I give Dad's Army a 7/10.