Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

filmalamosa James Bond like action thriller with evil villain. A young handsome Anthony Hopkins is sent to investigate the pirating of ships transporting gold.A Scottish Island has been taken over by a villain using hostages. Gold containing boats are sunk and the gold removed later--it is thus stored 14 fathoms under water until transport can be arranged.The scenery is beautiful. To me it was a more suspenseful intelligent story than Bond movies which after all are all about gizmos exploding fountain pens and so forth and always end in tiresome raids involving hundreds of men.Hopkins is a much more human Bond character --- Moorely the head spy you are unable to take too seriously. Both persona differences some how work against this genre? The genre as I see it in the original Bond movies is meant to be so outrageous (there can be zero hint of intentional comedy) as to be funny.Still I highly recommend this--Bond? for a more thoughtful audience?RECOMMEND

Shawn Watson Between OHMSS in 1969 and Diamonds are Forever in 1971 there was a chance that Bond would be retiring for good. The Rank Film Corporation figured that Alistair MacLean's maverick secret agent Philip Calvert would be the best to take his place.Obviously that didn't work out. Bond continued to prosper while Calvert faded into obscurity. You shouldn't count him out completely though as there is plenty of rugged and gritty thrills here in the vain of cold war thrillers that the high-key and glossy Bond films lack.However, a cold war villain or a madman wishing to take over the world ain't the antagonists here. A bunch of thugs hijacking ships and hiding out in a lonely port in the highlands are Calvert's enemies. Though I don't really care about such low-octane crimes and I failed to connect with the plot.Despite a touch of humour, some unusual scenery and the occasional tough guy moment there's just not enough of W8BT to get into. The film is over in 90 minutes and feels a bit rushed. I think it would have befitted considerably from a slower pace and an extra twenty minutes.Still, it's fun to see a young Anthony Hopkins doing the action hero thing, even if I have do damn clue what the title means.

Tord S Eriksson While adaptation of Alistair MacLean's books been popular few have been successful, and this is one of the less successful.Even with a great script (screenplay by MacLean) the film just doesn't take off, not least due to the fights and in various dark surroundings, where you really can't tell what is supposed to happen.Anthony Hopkins as the undercover man, and Corin Redgrave as his clumsy pal, works great, less sure about the bad guys. Robert Morley, as Hopkin's boss, is marvelous, and Leon Collins, as the shark fisherman, not bad at all.So great script, nice scenes from around Skye & Torbay, from the water, from the air and from land, buy much of the lighting and cinematography stinks! A film perfect for a remake!

NOORKOIVA It's important that films such as this be recognised as breaking away from the 60's bond fayre, and that they introduced a gritty reality all of their own. Bond indeed could never say 'bastard'. Even though he really was. Bond films strayed from the books,which as period literature remains quite good. Where as EBT was reasonably similar to what the author wanted to get across. A man in a dangerous situation, dealing with ruthless adversaries,who kills without hesitation. Very military, very straight to the point. Bound to upset the Vicars wife at the local tea party. But he wouldn't care, he would sooner be elsewhere, Pursuing the enemy, where ever they hide in the class system, tap, tap, he's slotted, move on. A perpetually restless individual, as Mr Hopkins no doubt was at that point in his life. Drowning his frustrations in alcohol when off duty (as does every professional?) I am off to Scotland this month, to the Kyle of Lochalsh. To me as a teenager this was a significant film in my development, as well as the book. In a politically correct world, where cynical reality can only be found in 'spin', a world in which the late author could only bemoan; I find solace in this film. Where people actually disprove of my children playing with their toy guns and reading Commando magazine; in the comfortable cities which refuse to recognise the reality of living and surviving in the Hebridies; Please take me back to 1971!. These old values are as strong as ever and this films principles and values remain the same to this day.Alan David Noorkoiv.