Michael J. Pollard does, to an extent, spoil every scene he is in.

I think that the main problem that Oliver Reed is one of the finest actors of the past thirty years - all brooding menace and power bubbling under the surface. Considering his role as Bill Sykes (the ultimate depiction of a vicious character), he is quite believable here.

However Pollard hams up his role and plays it like a smacked up hippy. I can't imagine that the French Resistance fighters would have followed him for an instance, and I am sorry to say he is badly miscast here.

The film is also, to an extent, a little derivative, with some pretty shoddy direction. It does have some superb cinematography which helps balance this out, but to be honest its a film to watch on December 27th when you have had your fill of Christmas cheer and just fancy something light.