The Sea Wolves (1981)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The Sea Wolves is one of those "old guys still got it!" movies, so if you prefer your action heroes to be young and fit, you might not like this. Me, I usually prefer men with a little mileage on them, and I'll watch anything with David Niven—at any age—so I was very excited to watch as he, Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, and Trevor Howard took on the Germans in this true WW2 story.Unfortunately for me, Niven had the second smallest part of the four, but any Niven is better than nothing! Gregory Peck might not have the best British accent in the world, but I don't really think anyone minds, as long as he's full of integrity and leads his troops to do the right and noble thing. And even though I would have preferred Niven to play the romantic lead, Roger Moore was very charming in his pursuit of Barbara Kellerman.All in all, there are some funny moments, cute music, and a pretty good and safe story. I mean, with Gregory Peck in charge, what could go wrong, right?

Sea Wolves with is star filled cast must have been a bit like the Sly Stallone led ensemble Expendables back when it was released.The splendid David Niven, the reliable Gregory Peck (Yes even with that accent) join the then current James Bond, Roger Moore lead a bunch of military vets on a dangerous mission.It tells the true WW2 story . The British must attack a German ship, that is saw in neutral waters. So the send ex soldiers who are now civilians and over 60 yeas old. The trouble with "The Sea Wolves" is that whilst the story itself is a very good one, and the cast is as good it is often shockingly slow. To the point of boredom at times, but also incredibly cheesy as it tries to inject a bit of humour (Moore's trademark as Bond) into this daring tale of veterans trying to sabotage German boats. Suddenly it ends up struggling to be average.My main problem wit this movie was Moore! I'm not sure his character is meant to be as funny as he seems. He dresses in tuxedo's, gambles in casino's, seduces women and is able to knock men unconscious with a single punch (all Bond trademarks) I suppose if you love his Bond you'll like it. But some of it is so ludicrous I wondered whether it was originally conceived as a spoof comedy.I have given this 5 stars for Niven and Peck, the action a scenes at the end and for the real heroes who this story is based on.Moore actually saved spoofing Bond for his next movie, the Burt Reynolds led ensemble Cannonball Run.

1943 and those dastardly Nazis are sinking allied ships in the Indian Ocean and the British Special Operations Executive have to destroy the Nazi transmitter in the neutral state of Goa Supposedly based on a true story of derring do there's a good story in here somewhere but it never seems to take off . From the outset we're treated to some very clumsy story exposition where characters constantly refer to events and organisations that they'd know all about . You'd think these characters were appearing in a film or something and by being constantly reminded that it is a film you're constantly taken out of it . By having Roger Moore in the starring role you'll be reminded that he's a rubbish actor and a rubbish Bond and THE SEA WOLVES does feel like a sub par Bond movie Another noticeable thing is the crowd scenes where everyone wears present day clothes , well present for the late 1970s where the height of fashion is flared blue denim jeans and a colour clashing T-shirt . Distracting isn't a strong enough adjective and to get around this the director starts shooting in medium close up which is no less distracting and having to use a deserted beach as an establishing shot . If you've ever been to India you'll know that the Swastika is plastered everywhere so perhaps he deserves some credit for shooting a location scene where it doesn't feature THE SEA WOLVES is a well meaning film centered around a true life story featuring some old sweats taking the fight to the Nazis during the war but both the protagonists and the audience deserved much better

..."We all do." No I'm not talking about "The Expendables 2", but actually from the film this bit of dialogue was actually stolen from; the 1980 boy's own adventure "The Sea Wolves". A classy, star-studded cast (Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, David Niven, Patrick MacNee, Trevor Howard, Kenneth Griffith and Patrick Allen) features in this rather dull, if big-scale old-fashion war-spy adventure of old men (pretending to be drunk businessmen who shower themselves in alcohol while parting on a clunker of boat) in exotic locations (in neutral Goa) dealing with Nazi radio ships who were involved in the sinking of allied ships. For most part even with its clowning nature and inspired plot threads these true World War 2 exploits come across as colourless and tired, just like its stars. The lead-up reconnaissance groundwork by Peck and Moore's characters can somewhat meander. The cast become distractions. Peck is simply going through the motions, Moore does his casual Bond shtick (being enticed by the lovely Barbara Kellerman) and MacNee enjoys standing on his head. Andrew V McLaglen's handling of the action is competent and there's a plethora of it, but simply it lacks the thrills and energy to sustain its long-winding length. McLaglen also did the similar, if much more exciting "Wild Geese".Sturdy, but mechanical entertainment.