It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Disappointment for a huge fan!

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Since most of the previous reviews have done a good job of addressing the plot I will refrain from repeating that here. The performances are top notch and the basic premise is very good, but the lackluster direction coupled with an almost laughable musical scoring by John Scott pull the film down. Michael Caine and the supporting cast do a wonderful job with the screen play and are very believable in their roles. I found the pacing and very "British" dialog to be minor issues. The music is another matter. I found it very distracting and to my ears, misplaced and unimaginative. The score brought the film down by several points for me.

The Whistle Blower is not generally a great favourite of the critics, and is one of those small budget films that BBC2 used to show late at night - a typical Caine schedule filler, in fact. I recall seeing the movie some time in the early nineties, but to be honest I have always been fond of it. Caine's performance here is brilliant, and if this movie really is classed by many as one of those typically weak eighties Caine features, then surely the critics will acknowledge that in the bulk of those films, a fifty-something Caine was pretty much without blame. The most powerful example of this is when Caine is informed of the sudden tragic death of his son. As he plays a hard edged ex-serviceman, he is of course made of the proverbial stiff upper lip, but his reaction to the untimely news about his loss is a real lesson in reaction acting, which Caine has always favoured over the years. I always liked the parts Caine played throughout his fifties - I felt he displayed a real maturity and as an actor appeared to reach the peak of his career. I suppose this is why it's even more impressive that he continued - if not bettered - that fact in his sixties and seventies. So, this is typical eighties-Caine territory. Low budget British movie peppered with familiar faces from the British acting fraternity, all of them seemingly amazed at the chance to appear in a proper movie alongside the guv'nor. Set and filmed around Cheltenham, Caine really does carry this movie. Nigel Havers (as Caine's son) looks like a Harry Palmer love child, but is not challenged in his role, whilst Gordon Jackson and James Fox stereotype their way through the picture as high ranking secret servicemen. John Gielgud and Kenneth Colley are also used sparingly, but such is the quality of the supporting cast, they all beef up what could easily have been a terribly dull escapade. And let's not forget Barry Foster, 'victim' of being done up like a kipper by Caine in one of the infamous 'drunk' scenes. By 1986, no-one played drunks better than Caine, and he seemed to be so good at it that a number of his movies became worth watching just for their scenes where he successfully played a character pretending to be drunk one minute then stone cold sober the next. He pitches his performance perfectly here, and fortunately everyone seems to deliver - the potential pretentiousness (that doesn't roll easily off the tongue) of the movie is identifiable in most scenes - like quiet flames licking their way at the edge of each frame, but the calibre of the Caine inspired cast make this film easy on the eye. True, there are some highly corny moments, and many spy clichés are rolled out mercilessly (usually involving a traitor declaring his love for Russia) but the chief protagonists are clearly giving it their all, and I just happen to like this movie a lot. I think it's really because Caine is so accomplished at his task, that his confidence on screen carries you with it, and whilst it's obviously made on a budget of about eight quid, that still doesn't mean it can't deliver.

I was surprised to learn this thriller/drama was made in 1987. Whilst watching, with references to pushing the nuclear button and the cold war between the U.S and Russia, I thought it evoked the U.K's paranoia over this in the early 1980s. Threads and the Two Tribes video sprang to mind. Guess the film might have taken a few years to get off the ground.Anyhow, it's a great movie. Spot-on performances from Caine and Havers - and everyone involved really. It keeps you watching until the end because you want to see if Frank Jones gets even (in however diplomat a way) with the apparently impenetrable espionage network he faces.

Some time ago I bought this movie for just 3 euro's. This low price was probably already a secret sign saying: 'Don't buy this one boy...!!' But still, Michael Caine starred in it..a respectable actor...I gave it a try.I put it in the DVD player and pushed the play button.What followed was a period of 100 minutes. In that period I underwent various moments of just nothing...This movie has no story, no goal, no suspense , no action, just nothing. Just meaningless dialogues and strange people.Now I am a nice and positive guy but this film really has to be one of the lousiest movies EVER made.My suggestion: don't watch