Franklin J Schaffner might have been the director of such acclaimed dramas as Patton, Papillon and Planet Of The Apes but that didn't stop him from giving the world The Boys From Brazil which is an astonishingly dull science fiction mystery.
The impressive cast miss the mark most of the time. James Mason is phoning it in, Gregory Peck struggles with his German accent and character actor extraordinaire Laurence Olivier has somehow convinced his director that an frail, eccentric Jew is the right protagonist for this particular story. The twat. At least an enthusiastic and baby faced Steve Guttenberg has the right idea. The plot moves at a glacial pace with little in the way of suspense or danger to liven up the dull planning of Peck's obsessed scientist or the rambling musings of Olivier's wacky crusader.
Still it does have a least two things going for it. Jerry Goldsmith delivers a bombastic score which adds a little energy to the lifeless visuals and the film at least has a stunning premise; what if someone could clone Hitler? At least on a conceptual level, Boys does have the capacity to chill. Unfortunately, it's all undermined in the final confrontation as Olivier and peck battle it out in a suburban living room. There's nothing like two pensioners fighting to the death in a major motion picture. It's just a shame it evokes a recent episode of Family Guy where Herbert The Pervert battles a Nazi...shown below in it's original Spanish!
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