Biggles - Adventures in Time (1988)

Modern-day American businessman Jim Ferguson (Alex Hyde-White, Catch Me If You Can) is propelled into a one-of-a-kind adventure when he is hurled through time into World War I. His mission could determine the end of the war#and destroy his life as he trie

British Captain James Bigglesworth, "Biggles" to his friends, saves civilization as we know it

We're on the Western Front in 1917 and the Germans have nearly finished work on a breakthrough secret weapon. This fiendish device emits high pitched, powerful sound waves that...I'd better keep this simple...destroy the sub-cleotic structure of an object's crone base, causing crystatin failure with subsequent nektonic surt degradation on a massive scale. This results in catastrophic softening of human flesh and brittle crumbling of metal structures and objects. At least that's how I think it works.

If the Hun uses this weapon, it could change the course of history as we know it. There's only one man who can stop this madness...British Captain James Bigglesworth, "Biggles" to those who know him, adventurer, warrior, always there when things are the diciest, and yet driven by resolute honor. Biggles is the sort of man that schoolboys would look up to and who would devour the stories of his adventures. In fact, between the end of WWI and the start of WWII, British schoolboys did just that in tale after tale written by W.E. Johns.

In this movie we discover something Johns apparently was unaware of. Some people, it seems, have time twins. When one of the time twins is in danger, his twin will be sent instantly through time and space to help. That's the pickle young American marketing hotshot Jim Ferguson (Alex Hyde-White), head of Celebrity Dinners, finds himself in. One moment he's worrying about whether the creamed corn looks like a dog's breakfast and the next he's running toward a downed British bi-plane in the middle of a blasted battlefield, with whiz bangs falling around. He rescues the pilot...who is Biggles (Neil Dickson). Only when Jim lands back to his own time does he get an explanation, from no other than Peter Cushing in his last screen role as the aged Air Commodore William Raymond, Special Air Force (Retired) who has quarters in 1A, Tower Bridge, London. Raymond was Biggles commander back then. He explains to Jim the phenomenon of time twins, something modern scientists still are only beginning to understand. More importantly, he explains the vital importance of Biggles' effort to locate and destroy this new German monstrosity. Biggles is aided only his loyal team made up of Ginger, Algy and Bertie. Facing Biggles is the might of the Hun, led by German fighter ace Eric Von Stalheim. Even though Jim's fiancée, Debbie, thinks he's crazy, Jim prepares himself to aid Biggles. Of course, before long, Debbie finds herself back in time, too.

The movie is absolute nonsense, but good nonsense in my opinion. There's no nudge-nudge by the director or the actors to let us know they're in on the joke. They play it straight, which makes things all the more enjoyable. Neil Dickson is just fine as the strong-chinned, resolute, resourceful, brave, honorable, dashing Biggles. "I'll not put a bullet in your head, old boy," he says at one point to Von Stalheim, "because that's not how we do business!" Alex Hyde-White holds his own as the baby-faced but resolute Jim Ferguson, very much a creature of the 1980's who now finds himself bouncing in and out of WWI. "It looks like this town's been nuked," he says to Biggles when they find themselves in the middle of a ruined town square. "Nuked? What's that?" Biggles asks. "It's an American slang term. It means to overreact." And Peter Cushing, looking even more skeletal than usual at 73 but still a commanding actor and reasonably spry, brings the same kind of utterly believable delivery to his lines that he gave to mummies, vampires and werewolves. It was good to see him again.

Biggles was unfortunate in being released a year after Back to the Future came out. As a time-travel adventure it didn't compare and quickly faded. Still, it's a fine example, in my view, of an affectionate, stiff-upper-lip boy's own adventure. Biggles isn't a great movie or even a memorable one, but it's competently made and it's fun. That's not a bad epitaph for a movie.

The DVD transfer looks just fine. There are no extras. May 30, 2008

Good and bad

While the product itself was fine, most (but not all) of the customer service was lacking. SUPER slow arrival and miscommunications made the transaction less than ideal. The ONLY person I had luck speaking with on the phone was "Lacey" who finally made the transaction possible! Had it not been for her superior abilities I would have given up and never consdiered purchasing through Amazon in the future.
April 5, 2008

Billie

This is clearly one of those movies that you must really like to own because the story line is really strange, although the theme music by Jon Anderson of Yes is nice. The acting is laughable and predictable. But keep in mind,this film was originally released in 1985. In summation, if you like cult films, you'll want to add this to your library. (And yes, I like cult films. That's why I bought this one). February 8, 2008

Seriously flawed... but still entertaining.

This movie is seriously flawed in so many aspects. The dialog is both written and often times delivered in an amateurish fashion, the lighting is some of the worst I've ever seen in a professional film and the actions of the characters in response to their surroundings is simply not within reason. Nonetheless... it's an entertaining film. At times it makes you grimace and roll your eyes with its shortcomings, but it remains entertaining in the manner of the old sci-fi serials such as Flash Gordon, et. al. And, of course, Fiona Hutchison is pleasing eye candy. Certainly not a classic, but not a bad way to pass some time. October 23, 2007

Biggles: Pilot Ace and Time Traveler Extraordinaire!

The story of Biggles starts with a British novelist (W.E. Johns)who writes a series of adventure novels starring James Bigglesworth, an ace British pilot during the First and Second World Wars.
The novels were well recieved, and developed into an ongoing pulp magazine that published from the early '30s well into the '70s.

The movie, Biggles: Adventures in time, was periled from the beginning. Cursed with a small budget and a rather dated script, many consider this movie to be just a B list adventure flick.

I think differently.
Though the special effects are lacking, and some of the lines are quite bad (even for an 80's flick), this movie captures a certain type of adventure you don't see too often.
The script lacks, but the actors took their lines and made the best of them, giving rather unique performances that dispel your disbelief and genuinely intrigue. The music fits surprisingly well for an 80's adventure film, and many, loving scenes of British fighter planes dogfighting German warplanes help to put you into Biggles' world. The plot, as fantastical and outlandish as it may seem, flows really well and fits in with the 30's pulp adventure theme.

In short, this movie is a bit of a trip back in time, to not only the 80's when it was made, but to the 30's when Biggles came into being. It drives you along in a thrilling and genuinely fun adventure that, accompanied by great acting and well scored music, delivers a great film to watch with the whole family. September 16, 2007

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