Fortunes of War – Review
Fortunes of War is a fantastically gripping, action-packed new British war film, from director Bill Thomas (The Three Musketeers, Lockdown Kings), written in collaboration with his brother Ian Thomas (The Bunker, Amnesia: Rebirth), the film is set to storm on to digital on the 19th of February, courtesy of 101 Films.
When a covert raid in Normandy goes horribly wrong, a small team of British commandos are cut off from their comrades. Hunted by the Wehrmacht forces, they stumble across a ramshackle old farm deep in the forest, where they plan to lay low.
There, they meet a couple of labourers using one of the barns as a pottery business (fishy much?) one I’m pretty sure is played by an uncredited Mike McShane from Who’s Line is it Anyway, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves etc but he may just look like him, because General Horseler is played by Bob Cryer and he looks and sounds like Christoph Waltz! anyway, I digress.
It’s not long before the farm is surrounded by pesky Nazi’s and the group come under heavy attack, just when they think it couldn’t get any worse a mortar team and a tank turn up!
With injuries increasing and a few of the squad pushing up daisies, they’re not giving up. They take shelter and prepare for the onslaught.
An SS General turns up and commands the German mortar team to stand down and argues with the other leader. Our heroes stumble onto a hidden basement area, where there’s the obligatory stash of “war spoils” aka big piles of gold and jewellery.
One of the band of soldiers realises something, the general holds a dark secret, that may just help them to escape. You’ll have to watch it to find out!
Now, whilst this isn’t a big budget Hollywood blockbuster, so you can forget about seeing that plane that’s on the poster it’s a really enjoyable way to spend 80 minutes.
The characters are quickly fleshed out and we get a feeling of the squad set up and friendships within it. Some of the Brits don’t trust the two French resistance members who they’re working with and this isn’t overdone, they mention it and move on. Leaving the viewer to think about it, or not…
The performances are all very good from the main cast, some of the German soldiers shooting acting could be worked on, but that’s being really picky.
The cinematography’s great with some beautifully lit scenes, the night/dark scenes are clear and there’s no need to turn the brightness up to see what’s going on. The score is also great, nicely utilised and doesn’t get over the top at any point during the film.
The muzzle flash overlay effects etc are all done well and the only point I questioned anything was when the Tank rolled in and I could just imagine it was really four people holding up a cardboard gun turret behind the hedge it was hidden behind.
The story is easy to follow, the characters all have a place and it’s a linear plot that doesn’t get boring.
Get your scope set on Fortunes of War for a thoroughly enjoyable WW2 adventure.
Released on digital 19 February 2024 watch the trailer below.
