Jonathon Dabell
There's this author, right? And he based all his fictional mystery stories on real life crimes committed by a psychopath who is now thought to be dead. With me so far? The author also baseshis fictional hero upon himself. Then, it turns out that the psychopath isn't dead at all, and that he is planning a truly diabolical crime in New York City, and the author who used to write about him is now the only person who can foil his fiendish plans. Sounds complex? That's because it is.The Man Who Wouldn't Die has a complex plot, but deals with it well and avoids the kind of confusion that could so easily have ruined the film. It unfolds in a humorous fashion and is given a real boost by two of Britain's hammiest actors in two of their hammiest ever roles. Roger Moore as the burnt out detective novelist (in a rare post-View to a Kill role) is just fine and oozes charisma. Malcolm McDowell as the villain gets to smack his lips in over-the-top glee and uncontrollable mania more than any other film since the notorious Caligula. And Nancy Allen (she of Dressed to Kill and Robocop) looks lovely even though she is evidently older than she used to be and delivers a reasonably competent supporting performance.The film benefits greatly by poking fun at itself, thus achieving a nice balance between farce and suspense. As TV movies go, this one is definitely an upper-class citizen!
joe dredd
I Caught this film late night on BBC2 one Friday and I was pleasantly surprised. Roger Moore is one of my favourite actors but even I have to admit he doesn't have the most glowing CV. This was really good though. There are great performances from Rog and McDowell.The director skillfully mixes comedy and suspense never overbalancing the film with too much of one or the other. I think it would have been good if the film had of had a slightly larger budget to up the production quality a little, I think then it could have been released theatrically and comfortably made its money back.I wish Roger were in Moore (good one eh?! erm yeah...) movies but I guess he doesn't have so much time with all his charity work and being on TV etc. No matter, its always a pleasure to see him in a quality film or show.
hugh1971
I've always been interested in Roger Moore's post-Bond twilight years. I spotted this film gathering dust in a video shop while on holiday in Copenhagen and hired it. It's excellent! Moore is on top form and very funny. He was 67 when this was made but plays a 48 year old - those who say he was too old to play Bond, take note!).The plot concerns a mystery writer turned journalist, Thomas Grace (Moore) who is approached by psychic Jessie Gallardo (Nancy Allen from Robocop) who claims that a master criminal, Bernard Drake (MacDowall) is going around murdering people in a style based on Grace's books. After initial scepticism, Moore pits his wits against MacDowall's criminal genius.There are some interesting fantasy sequences where Moore imagines himself as the heroes of his own mystery books. Shame about his attempt at a northern accent though! My one criticism would be the low budget, shaky tv-movie production values and some rather offbeat comic-book style scenes. It's exciting stuff, but probably won't appeal to those who aren't fans of Moore or MacDowall.
Ffolkes-3
The film is truly one of the best Condon's films. The plot is extraordinary just like the performances of Roger Moore (ex-writer Thomas Grace) and Malcolm McDowell (psycho Bernard Drake). Both characters are created in the best possible way. It's a pity that Condon did only one film with Moore , but maybe that's why this film is so special. If you've got some free time and you want to spend it in front of your best friend - TV , watch this film and enjoy it.
AD
