Joe Maddison's War

2010

Action / Drama / War

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 71%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 71%
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 262 262

Plot summary

Newcastle, 1939. Shipyard worker Joe feels emasculated and past his prime; too old to serve in the war, and he’s shocked when his wife leaves him for a younger naval officer. Needing a new challenge, Joe and his friend Harry reluctantly volunteer to join the Home Guard.

Director

Patrick Collerton Photo
Patrick Collerton

Top cast

Robson Green Photo
Robson Green as Harry Crawford
Kevin Whately Photo
Kevin Whately as Joe Maddison
John Woodvine Photo
John Woodvine as Father Connolly
Trevor Fox Photo
Trevor Fox as Eddie Turnbull
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
780.4 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 24 min
Seeds ...
1.41 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 24 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by taita

I really wanted to like this.....

I love the work of Alan Plater. His Beiderbecke series was absolute magic. But those stories weren't told in 110 minutes but slowly developed over many episodes which helped give it greater depth and great characters. I have to agree with the previous reviewer that this production of Joe Maddisons war fell well short of its full potential. It could have been a cracker of a story showing the frustration of a man who could not actively participate on the front line, being able to do his bit in the Home Guard. It could also have given us a more balanced view of the contribution of the Home Guard than the admittedly very funny but inaccurate "Dads Army" series. Unfortunately all we got was a meandering saga spread thinly from 1940 to 1945 with unnecessary interjections of archive footage that was supposed to set the time but arrived in the most curious places seeming to split a subplot in half. The actors did well with the material they had, Derek Jacobi as always superb, Robson Green adding the comic element, but they were let down by the story and continuity. It is a great pity that Alan Platers Swan Song is such a disappointment.
Reviewed by almacmedal 5 / 10

Good story - poorly portrayed

This was a good effort with some excellent performances from Kevin Whately, Derek Jacoby and Robson Green, who as a rule I don't reckon to be much of an actor. It was let down by some very poor production values, possibly driven by a low budget. The waves of bombers coming over at what looked more like 500' rather 10,000' were totally unconvincing, as were the pathetic pyrotechnic affects, with the unexploded bomb going off sounding like a Chinese cracker. Joe's son remained a sergeant all the way through the war despite flying on over 50 ops - that would never have happened, he would have almost certainly made warrant officer by the end. There were innumerable continuity errors - Joe goes out for a walk with his medal ribbons the right way up, half way through the walk they are suddenly upside down, and when he gets home they have disappeared altogether! Terrible. Shame the actors were let down by a sloppy production team. Not one I'd bother to watch again.
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