Review of Juggernaut (1974) by Richard D — 14 Jan 2013

Usually incorrectly classified as a disaster film because of when it was released and the general subject matter, "Juggernaut" will probably disappoint anyone expecting a film that conforms to the broad outlines of that genre.

A disaster film will set up a series of melodramatic plot strands that all culminate in the characters having to escape some form of catastrophe in progress. "Juggernaut" makes some perfunctory motions towards personal melodrama (the captain is sleeping with one of the passengers, the police officer in charge of the investigation's family in on the boat), but is much more concerned with the procedural plots of locating the bomber and defusing the bomb.

This is a very British take on the police procedural. It takes a very roundabout way of getting to its climax, but once it gets there, it's quite thrilling. I'm not a big fan of Richard Lester's, or at least of his Beatles films, the Three Musketeers films and "Superman II".

I do love "Petulia" and this film feels much more like that film in style and tone.