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All of this is the film’s way of screaming out at the audience about what a good man our hero is. It is then immediately followed by a scene of Preston sat at home alone looking at photos of his, we presume deceased, wife with a background of sad twinkly music. It’s quite a disturbing scene as the abuse she receives is shown in it’s full unpleasantness until Caine as Preston steps up to the mark and gives the racists a good kicking. The first takes place on a tube train as a black woman is accosted by a group of skinhead racists. Never is this more evident than in consecutive scenes, neither of which drive the plot in any way, but are specifically placed to make you sympathise with Preston’s character. I’ve already mentioned the lack of subtlety in the story telling and at times it really is quite alarming particularly with a screenplay adapted from his own novel by Frederick Forsyth. It is one of those performances that lifts what could be a very forgettable film into something quite enjoyable, which is fortunate because elsewhere The Fourth Protocol does leave a little to be desired. The Fourth Protocol also confirms Caine’s status as an icon as he somehow manages to look incredibly cool whilst being a middle aged man running around in a turtle-neck sweater and a puffer jacket. Those louder moments also contrast quite nicely with the quieter scenes of Preston spending time with his son, in which Caine is frankly adorable (although one is a reminder that nothing dates a film like text on an old computer). It’s hard to imagine anybody out there being able to deliver them with quite the same verve and extracting as much fun from what could otherwise have been quite a dry film. His shouty scenes with first Julian Glover and then at the very end of the film with Ian Richardson offer two of the main highlights.
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It’s also a role that allows him to go into full brilliant indignant Caine as he becomes increasingly frustrated with the decisions being made from above. It’s a role that benefits from his ever present charisma as he stands out as the cheeky chappy, but efficient agent among the stuffed shirts of his superiors. Fortunately there is still plenty to enjoy largely thanks to another excellent leading performance from Caine and an outstanding supporting cast full of wonderful acting talent.Ĭaine is terrific as John Preston and as always is intensely watchable throughout. Indeed the big difference between the two films is the lack of subtlety in The Fourth Protocol’s story telling and it is that more than anything else which makes it a less accomplished film. While The Whistle Blower went for a more understated narrative that ultimately came down to powerful men trying to cover up the incompetency of other powerful men The Fourth Protocol instead goes for the significantly less subtle threat of nuclear annihilation. While the two films have similar settings they have very different attitudes about how best to tell their story. With time running out Preston must battle a terrifyingly efficient Russian agent while also coping with a desperate power struggle among his own superiors.įollowing on from The Whistle Blower we are straight back into the Cold War with this adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s novel. As he clashes with his newly appointed boss he stumbles across a Russian plot to smuggle the materials to build a nuclear bomb into the country. John Preston is a highly accomplished British agent during the height of the Cold War. “Acting Head sunshine! And if you ask me you’re acting like a complete arsehole” John Preston