Thomas Cockerel as young Errol Flynn
“IN LIKE FLYNN” My rating: C
106 minutes | MPAA rating: R
Before he became a Hollywood movie star, Australian-born Errol Flynn lived a life of adventure cruising through the Indonesian archipelago.
Drinking. Whoring. Brawling. Looking for gold in dangerous places.
Russell Mulcahy’s “In Like Flynn,” based on the actor’s memoir Beam Ends, attempts to capture the pre-movie star Flynn as he and a trio of buddies go sailing for wine, wenches and wealth.
It’s not as much fun as it sounds.
Things start out promisingly with an encounter with headhunters in New Guinea. Young Flynn (Thomas Cockerel) and a Hollywood crew shooting location footage are forced to flee for their lives. Think the opening of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Once back in Australia, Flynn decides to return to New Guinea to search for gold. He steals a yacht, the Sirocco, and mans it with two drinking buddies — the gruff Rex (Callan Mulvey) and the babyfaced Duke (William Moseley) — and a suicidal old salt (Clive Standen, channelling Robert Shaw in “Jaws”) who provides most of the sailing knowhow.
Along the way they visit dockside dives and brothels and opium dens, run afoul of the Chinese mafia and the crooked mayor (David Wenham) of a sleazy stopover, brave sharks and seasickness and poisonous spiders and starvation and shipwrecks and get involved in an underground fight club.
Callan Mulvey, Thomas Cockerel
Flynn can charm his way out of most situations, slug or kiss his way out when talk is insufficient. He’s equal parts Indiana Jones and Captain Ron.
“In Like Flynn” should be a lot of fun. It isn’t.
Director Mulcahy (a veteran of dozens of music videos whose resume is highlighted by “Resident Evil: Extinction” and episodes of TV’s “Teen Wolf”) simply hasn’t got the Spielbergian touch for this sort of material. Instead of being fluid and seducitve the film is stiff and mannered.
Worse, as Flynn Cockerel displays none of the great swashbuckler’s charisma.
At least the film looks terrific.
| Robert W. Butler
Thanks for reviewing this (and watching it, so I won’t need to), Mr. Butler. I read Flynn’s “Beam Ends” embellished memoir several years ago, along with his later and very similar novel “Showdown.” It (they) should have made a good film — too bad it didn’t turn out that way.