Midnight In Saint Petersburg (6) (1996) -
This film was so obviously made for TV, because the production values and most of the actors were absolutely awful and it seemed more like it had been made in the 80's rather than the 90's, especially the synthesised backing soundtrack.
And Jason Connery's, Nikolai was the worst agent I've seen since I watched him in the previous film, 'Bullet To Beijing' (1995) and he delivered some of the worst acting I've ever seen too. He just had nothing going for him, no charisma or depth at all. The character actually came across as more trouble than he was worth in the end, leaving Harry (Michael Caine) to solve everything instead.
I couldn't help but enjoy Michael's character though. His delivery was entertaining if nothing else, although very typically him. He would have been better as the man in the chair at head office by the time this was filmed though. His running through the streets of Russia days were a bit behind him.
However, it was clear why Mike Myers cast him as the secret agent Dad in 'Austin Powers In Goldmember' (2002), based on what he delivered here.
I wouldn't say that this film was as bad as the last one, but it certainly wasn't as good as the first two in the series. It was all quite obvious who was doing what for whom as well, with no actual espionage really going on, where previously it was all too convoluted, this time it went too far the other way.
The ending was also really badly edited and I never found out who the Hell hired Harry in the first place either.
I don't know if Len Deighton, the writer who created these characters, disassociated himself from these later instalments, but I would understand if he had. While I might return to 'The Ipcress File' (1965) and 'Funeral In Berlin' (1966), I will not watch the rest of them again. Perhaps Mr. Deighton's books give a better account of things and better stories to start with? If I find the time, I might try them out.
324.11/1000.
This film was so obviously made for TV, because the production values and most of the actors were absolutely awful and it seemed more like it had been made in the 80's rather than the 90's, especially the synthesised backing soundtrack.
And Jason Connery's, Nikolai was the worst agent I've seen since I watched him in the previous film, 'Bullet To Beijing' (1995) and he delivered some of the worst acting I've ever seen too. He just had nothing going for him, no charisma or depth at all. The character actually came across as more trouble than he was worth in the end, leaving Harry (Michael Caine) to solve everything instead.
I couldn't help but enjoy Michael's character though. His delivery was entertaining if nothing else, although very typically him. He would have been better as the man in the chair at head office by the time this was filmed though. His running through the streets of Russia days were a bit behind him.
However, it was clear why Mike Myers cast him as the secret agent Dad in 'Austin Powers In Goldmember' (2002), based on what he delivered here.
I wouldn't say that this film was as bad as the last one, but it certainly wasn't as good as the first two in the series. It was all quite obvious who was doing what for whom as well, with no actual espionage really going on, where previously it was all too convoluted, this time it went too far the other way.
The ending was also really badly edited and I never found out who the Hell hired Harry in the first place either.
I don't know if Len Deighton, the writer who created these characters, disassociated himself from these later instalments, but I would understand if he had. While I might return to 'The Ipcress File' (1965) and 'Funeral In Berlin' (1966), I will not watch the rest of them again. Perhaps Mr. Deighton's books give a better account of things and better stories to start with? If I find the time, I might try them out.
324.11/1000.