Biggles: Adventures in Time

This film is not meant to be taken seriously, but is a thoroughly enjoyable romp, with a lot of humour. I watch my recording from time to time, and still laugh at it.

I particularly liked the way that Col. Raymond explained to Ferguson that the Germans are developing a secret weapon that could change the outcome of WWI, as though the war is still taking place, rather than being long over. This film gave the feeling that the past is still just as real as the present, and is somehow happening at the same time - spooky!

The background music was excellent: the "So you want to be a hero?!" piece as the biplanes streaked along just over the ground, woods on both sides, was marvelous.

The supporting characters of Algy, Bertie and Ginger seemed to fit so well with the old Capt. W.E. Johns stories - the actors really looked the part. Neil Dickson was excellent as the brave but human British hero who, when Von Stalheim proposes a toast "To War", replies "To Peace". The film definitely captured some of the "Boy's Own" era of British story-telling, when the heroes were bold, resourceful and always ready to have a go at the enemy, regardless of the odds or the danger - but always remained polite and courteous.

I really don't understand why this film bombed out at the box-office; after all, we have all seen far worse films which did much better. Perhaps the name "Biggles" is too British to attract an American audience, who don't have the nostalgic fondness for the character that we who read the books in our youth have?

Which does not really work. I remember Biggles being heavily marketed in comics like The Eagle and The Transformers back in 1986. I don't remember watching in the cinema but I caught it on TV or VHS a few years later. I think I might have a sticker album as well.

As a straightforward WW1 action flick (or maybe even taking a cue from Aces High or Dawn Patrol) Biggles might have worked. Authentic locations, good combat scenes, a mysterious but plausible secret weapon, his cast of ever reliable 'chums'. We even have an arch nemesis in the shape of Erich von Stalhein, while the fair Maria (of Allo Allo fame) provides an intriguing love interest / spy angle - something that was rarely considered in the original books (which I have not read).

Unfortunately, all of this was sidelined in a rather silly (to my eyes now!) time travel plot used solely to drag in a clutch of clichéd Americans and comedy Eighties set pieces - all of which have dated badly indeed. If Neil Dickson is an effective Biggles, and Peter Cushing shines as a dignified Colonel Raymond, then Alex Hyde - White reacts to the action and bedlam with all the emotion of racing result.

But I'm not going to be too harsh here. There's lots of fun to be had, just as there was all those years ago. Just switch your brain off, accept the implausibility and chocks away!!

I always believed I'd grow out of this film, but that hasn't happened yet. True, the plot's impossibly silly, but when I first watched the film, that didn't matter to me. Frankly, it still doesn't. Don't watch this film if you're looking for some serious intellectual stimulation. However, if it's great fun, great music and a major dose of eighties nostalgia you're after, this could be the one for you. One last thing - the main theme "Do you wanna be a hero" still sends shivers down my spine every time I see the opening credits.

I hate to quibble with a comment but I had to offer some follow up to the comment regarding the disbelief of a German secret weapon during World War I. The concept for a wave type weapon has its origins before World War I with Nicola Tesla, who first postulated the notion of what has become known as scalar waves. Modern physics denies that such waves can exist but Tesla was convinced that they did and according to some he provided it (Tesla Horwitzer). The British actually developed the first theoretic underpinnings for a sound weapon of the type depicted in Biggles and frankly I thought that is where the idea came from. We "moderns" think far to much of our capabilities. What is happening today is that some open minded scientists are revisiting discarded Victorian science. How many people know that the modern principles of William Clerk Maxwell's electromagnetic principles are taught today in a truncated form and that the missing parts may in fact provide the theory for effective wave weapons (ever wonder why the US government spends so much time on Star Wars technology?). By the 1930s, the Germans were developing a number of secret weapons including the so called death rays. I think it prudent to give early modern humans credit for being just as creative as our generation and a lot more open minded.

Jim (Alex Hyde-White) is a catering manager with a busy schedule. Yet, one day, a strange man comes calling at his house, in a thunderstorm. He's secretly an officer, Colonel Raymond (Peter Cushing) from World War I! Whoa! He tries to warn Jim about future strange happenings but the catering man doesn't listen. All too soon, Jim is back in time, flying an aircraft in WW I and hanging out with Bigglesworth, Biggles for short (Neil Dickson). That's because, as the colonel tried to explain, he is Biggles "time twin". Thus, never knowing when, Jim is transported between two time periods. Naturally, this upsets his food business while he gets into many a hair-raising situation as a pilot. Sometimes he's captured and interrogated, while he and Biggles face even firing squads. Is this supposed to be fun? This movie is not really as large as its title indicates but its a pleasant enough experience. Based on a long ago set of popular British novels, its escapades probably worked better in print form. Hyde White is cute as the poor soul with the time travel problem while Dickson is quite dashing. Costumes are fine while special effects are adequate. All in all, there are worse ways to spend an evening but don't harbor high expectations before a showing.