I really liked the TV series and have enjoyed recently seeing Don Sharp's 70s films Henessy and Psychomania so I was looking forward to this, but it's disappointing. I mean it's still Callan it's not the same cynical look at the world and those marvellous characters - Callan the ruthless killer who has a soul, his honest dodgy helper Lonely, the cynucal station chief Hunter.
But the show doesn't translate well to film - at least not as done here. It feels very much like an episode of a TV show - lots of two handers, in particular scenes of Callan talking to Schneider, his target. The crampy dingy atmosphere that worked well in TV and in black and white doesn't translate well to film.
Nothing much is done with Callan being brought out of retirement - within a few minutes its like he's been doing his job without stopping.
They don't use the opportunity to deepen the view of Callan or his world. It's a cheap looking film too. Don Sharp was better with pace and movement... but he could do atmosphere as shown with Kiss of The Vampire. But this doesn't have much atmosphere. (I did like how Sharp got to do a car chase towards the end. He goes nuts, as if relieved to be let out of prison.)
Catherine Schnell pops up in a nothing part as the target's girlfriend.
Some of this was a hard slog - it felt like a 55 minute story padded out - but the second half was better than the first.
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