Film Reviews

Dark Blue World

• Rating:
• Director: Jan Sverak.
• Starring: Ondrej Vetchy, Krystof Hadek, Tara Fitzgerald, Charles Dance, Oldrich Kaiser
• Details: Cze and Ger / 119 mins / (No Cert)

After their homeland is attacked, two daredevil fighter pilots, escape, decamp to Britain and volunteer for the RAF. There, as they attempt to impress their new commanding officer, both men manage to fall in love with the same girl. Sound familiar? Indeed, there are more than a few surface similarities between Jan Sverak's Czech drama and last year's sludge fest, Pearl Harbor. And while Dark Blue World is the better film - just about - it, like its predecessor, certainly doesn't leave any cliché unturned over the course the course of its two hour running time. Like Pearl Harbor, great attention has been paid to the aerial battle scenes and they are very well executed. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the performances. Vetchy and Hadek both seem to be capable actors, but the script doesn't allow them much expression, while Dance and Fitzgerald's do what's required - nothing more, nothing less.

Review by Garreth Murphy