In many ways the James Bond franchise was the personification of 1960s pop culture , no one had seen anything like it before in the movie industry and everyone in the industry tried to emulate the style of the Bond movies . Looking back on these Bond clones they`re laughably dated and even embarrasing and I bet the producers of THE IPCRESS FILE are glad they conciously made Harry Palmer the opposite of Bond
Depending on how you look on it Harry Palmer being the antithesis to 007 is either a good thing or a bad thing . I think it`s both which is a strength and weakness for THE IPCRESS FILE , a strength because we`re shown that intelligence work is composed of nothing more dynamic than sitting in an office all day looking through files and checking out leads ( Factually correct I imagine ) and a weakness because not many film goers will be interested in watching a spy movie involving an agent who spends much of his time behind a desk and there are maybe a bit too many scenes set in an office .
There`s another problem with THE IPCRESS FILE and that`s once you know who the traitor is the surprise only works once , likewise once Harry escapes from his prison cell we`re treated to a shock revelation and I remember thinking this was a very clever plot twist first time I saw it but seeing it again tonight it doesn`t carry much of an impact . Unlike a Bond adventure people aren`t going to rewatch this movie again and again
To be positive though Michael Caine is absolutely superb as Harry Palmer and it`s easy to see why he was an icon of British culture in the 1960s , he plays the part in an understated manner and whoever would have thought someone wearing specs and a raincoat could be quite so cool ? And even though the plot twists are a one trick pony they are clever first time you see them
Depending on how you look on it Harry Palmer being the antithesis to 007 is either a good thing or a bad thing . I think it`s both which is a strength and weakness for THE IPCRESS FILE , a strength because we`re shown that intelligence work is composed of nothing more dynamic than sitting in an office all day looking through files and checking out leads ( Factually correct I imagine ) and a weakness because not many film goers will be interested in watching a spy movie involving an agent who spends much of his time behind a desk and there are maybe a bit too many scenes set in an office .
There`s another problem with THE IPCRESS FILE and that`s once you know who the traitor is the surprise only works once , likewise once Harry escapes from his prison cell we`re treated to a shock revelation and I remember thinking this was a very clever plot twist first time I saw it but seeing it again tonight it doesn`t carry much of an impact . Unlike a Bond adventure people aren`t going to rewatch this movie again and again
To be positive though Michael Caine is absolutely superb as Harry Palmer and it`s easy to see why he was an icon of British culture in the 1960s , he plays the part in an understated manner and whoever would have thought someone wearing specs and a raincoat could be quite so cool ? And even though the plot twists are a one trick pony they are clever first time you see them