An Entertaining Potboiler
Summary
The Holcroft Covenant may be a little slow burn and confusing at times for some, but I still had a good time with Michael Caine at his best as an architect clearly out of his depth as he dodges assassins while trying to discover what’s going on. It isn’t loaded with action but there is enough to keep things moving and any movie with Michael Lonsdale gets a thumbs up from me.
Plot: The son of a German General becomes part of a mysterious conspiracy to gain hidden Nazi funds.
Review: The Holcroft Covenant is based Robert Ludlum’s book of the same name and stars Michael Caine as an architect called Noel Holcroft who is given an offer which seems too good to be true. His father was a Nazi who has left a huge sum of money for him to make amends for all the wrong doing he did during the war. As soon as Holcroft meets with Ernst Manfredi (Michael Lonsdale) assassins come out of the woodwork and his life is in danger for the rest of the movie. We don’t know who can be trusted with twists and turns keeping you on your toes.
This is more of a thriller than an all-out action picture, but we still get a few shoot-outs and explosions but it’s mostly tension that keeps this potboiler bubbling over. Some have said the movie is slow and confusing but I was able to follow it without too much trouble.
The pacing does admittedly lag in places but director John Frankenheimer keeps you guessing and I found it mostly tense. The scene towards the end with the villain’s speech is a highlight as it’s quite chilling and still relevant today.
Caine is quite brilliant as Holcroft because he isn’t some invincible badass; he has never held a gun before and is genuinely out of his depth using only his wits to keep him alive. As I’ve said before he has very expressive eyes and when he’s playing a villain he could look really menacing.
Interestingly Shane Rimmer (who played Lt. Miles) also starred in the TV adaptation of another Ludlum tale, The Bourne Identity from 1988. I also remember him in Batman Begins as the guy working at the water plant who is basically Basil Exposition describing what’s going to happen if the train crashes.
Anyway, the score to The Holcroft Covenant is dated and distracting making it one of the weaker aspects of the film.
Overall, The Holcroft Covenant isn’t packed with action but it has enough to keep things moving and I found the story compelling and unpredictable; despite it coming out in 1985 it feels like the kind of movies we used to get in the early 70’s which is no bad thing.