just watch it!

Disturbing yet enthralling

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Juggernaut is a well done action / disaster thriller which combines some good performances with great direction and scripting. An extortionist calling himself Juggernaut has planted several bombs aboard the ocean liner Britannic and is threatening to sink the liner in heavy seas if he is not paid off. The film follows an official from the cruise company, a naval bomb defuser, and London police officials as they attempt to prevent a catastrophe.What sets Juggernaut apart from a thousand other 'mad bomber' films is that to a large extent it approaches the threat from an official, even technical perspective. Rather than a maverick cop chasing the psychopath around the ship, we get highly suspenseful scenes of professionals trying to defuse bombs. The film plays up the difficulty of defusing a booby-trapped bomb, taking it beyond the film cliché of simply cutting the right wire. The heroes have to get through a variety of hidden snares within the devices before they even get to the wires. Indeed, the sub-plot involving the cruise official serves to remind us that this is not just a 'technical exercise,' that there really are lives at stake.Furthermore, the film does not succumb to the temptation to overplay its villain or make him a flamboyant maniac. Despite his code name serving as the title of the film, Juggernaut does not figure that prominently in the plot. When he does turn up, the performance is quite understated, particularly when compared to the head of the bomb squad. (Only Richard Harris would think that downing a bottle of scotch is good preparation for defusing a bomb.) Indeed, one can argue that the bombs themselves serve as the primary antagonist of the film with their fiendish designs.The acting in the film is quite good overall, even if the characters aren't always that well fleshed out. Richard Harris does a good job as the film's overall protagonist, lending him a sense of mordant humor that keeps him from becoming a stale action hero. Omar Sharif also does a good job as the ship's captain, even though his character is largely one note.Juggernaut does have some weak points. At times, the investigation back in London is given short shrift, so that it is difficult to follow. Furthermore, there are one or two scenes contrived for dramatic effect that take away from the film's realism. In particular, one scene where a young child gets access to a restricted area of the ship strains credibility. Still, the film definitely stands as a minor classic in its genre.

SPOILER ALERT! A so-so suspense yarn directed in the most restrained way, especially when you consider that the director is Richard Lester. Lester, usually the most imaginative film-maker, hands in what amounts to journeyman work. Richard Harris heads a large cast as a British navy man trying to defuse seven bombs planted on an ocean liner during a transatlantic trip. Harris cracks a lot of jokes and yells a lot at ship's captain Omar Sharif. It's all very tame and extremely well put together but nevertheless lacks punch. In addition to Harris & Sharif, the impressive cast includes Anthony Hopkins, David Hemmings, Ian Holm and Shirley Knight in the odd role of Sharif's shipboard mistress. Freddie Jones, Michael Hordern and Cyril Cusack appear briefly...one of them is a lunatic.

Juggernaut is a terrific film - even now when I rewatch it I still don't know which of the seven bombs will or won't explode.The setting on the boat and each of the metal barrels with their puzzles is a timeless plot.It is clever without being pretentious, very exciting, and has just the right mix of military professionalism and human action to make this tick along.If you have never seen it, do - it hasn't aged a bit. For those watching it again it will still produce chills without resorting to horror, or cheap kicks.A classic well-constructed thriller that really delivers suspense and surprises - highly recommended.

I remember seeing Juggernaut when it first came out in theaters back in 1974 and I was sucked in rather nicely as the tension builds in this film. I'm not sure Alfred Hitchcock could have done better building the suspense.Yet it could have been a lot better. The mastermind behind the plot to extort half a million pounds really doesn't have all that good a motive for what he does. And his actions towards the end of the film when he's caught and the jig is up so to speak, make absolutely no sense.Juggernaut proceeds on many different levels, as his HMS Britannic sails for a cruise from I presume Southampton a bomb threat is phoned into the ship owners from a man identifying himself as Juggernaut. He wants the amount mentioned above or five strategically placed bombs will explode and sink the Britannic along with 1200 passengers and crew.Scotland Yard under Anthony Hopkins looks to find the man, shipowners decide to pay, Captain Omar Sharif finds out and tells the crew and they try to keep the passengers minds off the strange doings on the ship. Special mention goes to Roy Kinnear as the cruise director for that particular job and his performance is great.But primarily the film focuses on Richard Harris and his team of demolition experts. As he's mentioning often enough, he's the best at his job, the champion. He has to be because the stakes are at the highest possible level if he comes in second. And the man he's up against is a brilliant demolitions man himself.According to a recent biography of Harris he was filming Juggernaut in the United Kingdom and flying back to the USA in intervals to film 99 and 44/100 Percent Dead. How his agent got him into that kind of deal God only knows, but I think he did better on the UK side of the pond. Juggernaut is a good suspenseful thriller that probably would have been a lot better with more understandable motivation from the villain's point of view.