SYNOPSIS
In visual terms, this filming of AEW Mason's novel by Shekhar Kapur has the grandiose qualities to justify a new interpretation more than 60 years after the Korda brothers' classic version. The film's major action sequence - a desert battle between a meagre British contingent and a vast Sudanese army - certainly reaches the thrill levels of Zulu. Its pacing and casting, however, are significantly flawed with too many drawn-out, talky sequences punctuating the Boys' Own adventures and a youthful line-up that smacks of pandering to the lucrative 15-to-24-year-old demographic. Heath Ledger has heroic appeal as disgraced officer Harry Feversham, who adopts an Arab identity to secretly assist his battalion, but Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson are stiff and unconvincing, which diminishes interest in the central love triangle. Accept the movie on its own terms, however, and there are gorgeous backdrops and expensive production values to savour - as well as Djimon Hounsou's captivating turn as Ledger's African ally.
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