Review of The Ipcress File

Inevitably any spy, particularly one from this era, will be compared to James Bond; Harry Palmer is a very different character, rather than the suave and sophisticated former Royal Navy Commander he is a rough and unsophisticated ex-Sergeant; his only real similarity with Bond is his fondness for a pretty girl. The plot could have come from Bond, or even an episode of The Avengers; somebody is kidnapping British scientists and, we later learn, brainwashing them! Palmer is part of a team investigating the latest disappearance, knowing the only person capable of organising the kidnapping they offer to buy him back but the man they get isn't the man he used to be... he has forgotten all information concerning his latest breakthrough. As Palmer starts to close in on his target he is set up for the murder of a CIA agent and ordered to lay low for a while but as he does so he is snatched and held captive while his captor attempts to brainwash him; will he be able to resist these techniques and contact his boss or will he become a pawn of his captor?

I rather enjoyed this film; while it might not be a classic due to its rather far-fetched central premise which would be more suited to a lighter style, it is still fairly gripping and there are some nice twists to keep things interesting. While it is true that Michael Caine only seems to play Michael Caine whatever the role that doesn't matter in the slightest as he does it so well and hardly ever disappoints. While there wasn't much in the way of real action things were kept fairly tense; especially in the scenes were he was in captivity. I'd certainly recommend this to anybody who likes spy thrillers or fans of Michael Caine.