Age of Heroes

2011 "They Were Britian's Commando Elite"
5.5| 1h30m| R| en| More Info
Released: 09 September 2011 Released
Producted By: Matador Pictures
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The true story of the formation of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K.

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Director

Adrian Vitoria

Production Companies

Matador Pictures

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Age of Heroes Audience Reviews

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype
Micransix Crappy film
Rainey Dawn Surprisingly a good war film. I'm not big on war films but this one I found very interesting.9/10
Robert J. Maxwell It has some of the qualities of a television production -- the flat photography, the close ups. But what it is, is a British movie about a commando raid into Norway early in World War II. Ian Fleming is seen supporting the organization of what was to become the SAS but his isn't a prominent role, and he does not wear polished oxblood brogans or chocolate colored bow ties. He's a naval commander, and the leader of the back is major Sean Bean, older but more impressive in his bulk than ever.Some recent British war movies, like "Behind Enemy Lines," have been unusually graphic compared to the triumphant war stories of the 1950s. This one is more brutal and far less polite than any of the others in the genre that I've been able to see.These nascent commandos and the prison that one of them comes from are hellishly demanding. The Brits who run the prison ("the red hats") bully the prisoners, kick them, drive them to exhaustion and then beat them. And the commando training is even more rigorous.The first half tells the story of a prisoner who escapes in order to join the commandos. The second half spells out the story of the raid on some German radar installations in the snowy mountains of Norway.The SS officer who pursues them, tortures his captives, and executes the residents of a tiny Norwegian village is handsome and well spoken, although thoroughly evil. The action scenes -- and there are several of them -- are subject to the usual wobbling camera and instantaneous cutting that's become so faddish. The narrative nevertheless is enthralling. When a captive suffers, he REALLY suffers.The commandos kill many Nazis, and they kill each other when they must, and they even try to kill themselves if they're about to be captured. The ex prisoner is about to cut his own throat as German soldiers approach him. We're supposed to admire the dedication and self sacrifice of the commandos while condemning any Japanese who did the same thing during the war.If you see this, you're not likely to forget it in a hurry.
writeus-1 I would liken it to a small but well-formed Heroes of Telemark and if you liked that you should like this.Sean Bean and Danny Dyer are excellent, and I enjoyed the introduction of Isabella Miko. Other casting was adequate (although I would have preferred someone like Susannah York - ex Battle of Britain - for the role of Holbrook) I have a hunch that the negative reviews of this film may be from a non-UK audience; one that is not comfortable with ordinary heroes, realistic language (the F-word), and the audience being left to complete elements of the story. The ending is sufficient, and the suspense well-maintained throughout, with plenty of action - some a little more unpleasant that you might want in a 15 - but that is the nature of war. Nothing gratuitous, but nothing patronisingly anodyne.I have watched a lot of war films over the last 50 years and this is definitely one of the better ones.
o-kennedy What I really don't get about this film is the complete lie that it tells you, "this is the true story of the formation of Ian Flemming's 30th Commando Assault Unit".Ian Flemming did form such a group, but that is where the truth ends.The film appears to be based upon an operation called Operation Biting. This was the raid by British troops on coastal radar stations in France to collect intelligence and the technology the Germans were using. Unlike the film, no such raids on radar posts took place in Norway.Operation Biting was also a resounding success. Only 2 British personnel were killed in action out of 120. It was also the first time the British had managed to land and carry out a successful operation in occupied Europe and saved many lives as British scientists managed to counter the technology which was responsible for so many deaths of RAF personnel.It was such a success that it feature prominently in the press for several weeks.Also, the raid was carried out by the Parachute Regiment. 30th Commando first saw action on the Dieppe Raid.So, I suppose my big problem with the film is - why not follow the true stories? They are stories that should be told and would make a nice change from the typical American WW2 film where no other country exists.