Review of Chariots of Fire (1981) by Tim H — 29 Feb 2008

I'm not really sure what to think about this one. There are some honest first impressions that I could give this movie, but I'm kind of on the fence.

Here's the deal. I normally don't care for sports movies. But then again, most sports movies are American or the characters in the movie are spoofs of their actual culture. (Cool Runnings anyone?) But this one's British and it really treats the genre a little differently. But the main concern I have with this movie is that it is a bit too Hallmark for my liking. Now, I liked the cinematography and the acting, but the structure and content is kind of weak. And then there's the score.

I'm aware that the opening titles of Chariots of Fire is iconic at this point. But listen to it. That music is awful. 1981 is a terrible time for orchestral music. For some reason, the world thought that using a synthesizer sounded better than having a philharmonic orchestra directed by someone talented. So here's this very classic film that's very British and very proper...and then you are about to breakout into Mr. Roboto? Bad, bad choice. But back to the content...there are moments when the film seems like it is going to be strong and character based. But then the movie decides to do something heart-wrenching and lame, which totally pulls you out of the film. There are these huge dilemmas that are solved rather easily. There really is no loss. There are whiny characters who seem to bring up their problems where problems don't exist. I'm sorry, I'd rather see people fall and fail in their ambitions rather than have the outright perfect ending. At the end of the day, if the characters lost the Olympics (I didn't spoil anything for you. It's on the cover of the DVD!), there would have been little reprocussions, outside the conflicts that the characters impose on themselves.

Perfect example: One of our main characters can only love if he wins. Wouldn't it have been more powerful if the man abandoned his quest for egotism and perfection to settle down for honest real love? The girl asks "what will happen if he doesn't win?" Of course, we never really have to address that issue because he wins. How lame.

The really wonderful thing about this movie outside of some of the epic cinematography is Ian Holm's performance. Holm really lends and strong, quirky performance to this movie and it is earnestly needed. Everything else just comes off as whiny.