When I initially heard about the planned cinema remake of the classic British sitcom ‘Dad’s Army’, I was quite apprehensive really.
I can’t claim to be a big ‘Dad’s Army’ fan but I certainly remember enjoying the odd episodes when I was younger with my granddad, who was definitely and still is a big fan of the show. I suppose I’m just growing increasingly frustrated with the sudden growth in popularity of remakes, and not just any old remakes. We’re talking about hugely influential TV shows and films that I really think would be best left alone.
The announcement that ‘Jumanji’ starring the late, great Robin Williams is to be given a reboot was one that infuriated me. Why? Because firstly, there is absolutely no need to remake this film and secondly, I actually think it’s rather disrespectful. Especially considering the announcement came very close to the one year anniversary of Robin Williams’ passing.
That’s another matter entirely though. Having watched the 1st teaser trailer for ‘Dad’s Army’ that has just been released by Universal, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. I thought it looked funny and although it’s hard to give an accurate judgement based on a short trailer, it looked as though the cast shared great chemistry.
It is fair to say that the largest concern to big ‘Dad’s Army’ fans is the change in cast members from the original show, which ran from 1968-1977. To them, Captain Mainwaring will always be Arthur Lowe, Sergeant Arthur Wilson will always be John Le Mesurier etc. Of course it was never going to be possible to use the original cast because of the sobering fact that all but two of the original major cast members have since passed away. Only Ian Lavender who played Private Frank Pike, and Frank Williams who played Reverend Timothy Farthing are still with us.
There is cause for optimism though and I am a firm believer that films should not be judged before they have been seen. Captain Mainwaring is to be played by Toby Jones, Bill Nighy plays Sergeant Wilson, Michael Gambon portrays Private Godfrey and Catherine Zeta-Jones plays visiting journalist Rose Winters.
More cause to be optimistic is that David Croft, who wrote and directed the original series, has also helped write the film so the dialogue shouldn’t feel dissimilar from that of the original series.
The director, Oliver Parker, isn’t what you would call a household name with his most notable works being ‘Johnny English Reborn’ and ‘The Importance Of Being Earnest’, but don’t let that put you off because I think this film is going to be a funny, charming throwback to one of the nations favourite ever TV shows.
Prepare for nostalgia.
– Jack
Check out the trailer below. Reporting For Duty February 2016.
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