User reviews

At the beginning when the four Spitfires land after a sortie ,the only person there to greet them is one man in blue overalls ,who pokes around in a cockpit . In reality the planes would need refueling and re arming so they would be ready to take off again within 5mins. This would involve many men swarming around the planes as they stop! With a fuel bowser present and a least an Ambulance .We see no vehicles .We see one man ! Two men are later seen fiddling around with a tail rudder in the background! But NO refueling or re-arming! A short while later a Spitfire lands with a female pilot (with presumably a replacement aircraft) But it has exactly the same flight identification markings as the Spitfire the Skipper landed in a short time earlier ! Then they take off in a few minutes later without being re-armed or re-fueled ! And so it goes on !

The earliest WW 2 films featuring pilots are head and shoulders over this production. The production values are extremely limited, even as the actors try their best to make the thin script into something more than it is.

There are no dives or climbs, as one would see in almost every other WW2 plane film, there is just a video-game feeling about the targets, and it is highly impersonal, as we do not get to see any of the German pilots.

Even one scene of an enemy pilot would have added to the emotional content of the film, which, at best, was lukewarm.

I happened to have viewed A Yank in the RAF recently, and their battle scenes were far more effective than these tepid attempts. And that film was primarily a soap. For real airplane action, you are much better off seeing Wings, the WW1 Academy Award winner.

One Spitfire (all pilots are flying and sharing the same aeroplane :) ), one garden shed and one patch of grass as airfield doesn't make a war film (or any film at all), especialy with long fruitless conversations, no story at all and mediocre CGI. If possible, watch it only for your amusement how bad this movie really is with all obvious mistakes. One can not move aeroplane with wheel blocks in front, but still does. Oh, did I mention, that all aeroplanes have the same markings, even in CGI form? :) Chasing lonely He-111 bomber wihtout any gunners defence? What is this, arcade game BoB with novice level on? We had thousands of better aeroplane and war movies. So skipping this one no one will get hurt.

I am assuming their research department for this movie was hit by severe funding cutbacks because this movie is riddled with inaccuracies and outright hyperbole. I especially enjoyed the part where they just hop in their Spits and fly away, not a ground crew to be found other than one guy pulling the wheel blocks away. And whats with the not shaving? It may be be chic to walk around with a 5 oclock shadow, but in the military you would get crucified. Uniforms are sporting insignia that are placed wrong or did not even exist during the BoB, terrible plane inaccuracies, and British pilots who would ALL have been shot down on the first day. The movie is good for a laugh, or if you fancy a drinking game where everyone does a shot when they notice something farcical.

Filmed and produced on a budget of 10 shillings and 6 pence, this utter load of rubbish is a disgrace and a slap in the face of real WWII veterans who fought and died in the conflict. Actors who have no idea of period acting, aircraft straight out of an X-box game, the combat sequences are ridiculous and the use of a garden shed for a flight dispersal defies belief. Background extras walking about wearing odd bits of uniforms, the whole film is complete farce. How anyone can take this level of amateur filmmaking seriously is beyond belief, whoever rated this higher than 2 stars must have been watching something completely different.

This is not a film for watching, it's a film for bypassing and avoiding...

I have seen parts of this movie and it is just as bad as the Masters of the Skies series.

Guys sitting in there Spifires in perfectly starched suits flying straight lines while in combat.

Really is this the new norm of Hollywood movie making.

Flying straight line in active combat airspace is a deathwish to be fullfilled.

Every enemy gun will have zero trouble of shooting you down.

And the ammount of CGI is again everywhere.

And then I'm not even talking about the highschool level acting of the actors.

My advice would be to find, Battle over Brittian from 1969 and get a much better feeling how it was over the skies of Southern England during WWII and how close England got to be defeated by the Luftwaffe.

I have already deleted this movie from my collection because I will not insult the brave airmen that gave their lives during this horrible conflict by owning a copy of this abomination.

I try to watch every war movie out there, and most of them are ok - even the low budget ones make an attempt at plot, CGI, and action: this one does none of the above.

-Week to no plot; -Minimal if any use of CGI; -"Battle over Britain"? I never saw any battles;

The cockpit death scenes are unconvincing: where's the blood? How did the pilots get shot? In one scene we simply see a splash of crimson, done.

The movie blatantly uses the same tired aircraft over and over - check out the registration of the "new delivery" Spitfire if you don't believe me. Plus the movie has the same arial clips over and over.

Don't waste your time on this garbage. Spitfire exploitation I call it. The producers are taking advantage of the plethora of rebuilt war planes out there, which is great - but this movie ain't.

I'm sat watching now.

As a film, as a concept of bringing back the Classic British War Film, it's a great attempt. Not a blockbuster, not a study in of human endeavour in any real depth, just a story and a scenario of RAF Pilots 'doing their jobs'.

There is some plotline of sorts revolving around a competition of kills for a prize pot, the main driver of the competition being a bluff Yorkshireman (accent like Sean Bean) who has a cold exterior of a personality, not particularly likeable.

In short, it's ok, 1hr 20 min, and actually worth the time. Makes a change to see a film in slow burn mode and not to be bashed around the head with multi plot line set-ups to be able to play the last 20 mins punchline.

Give it a go.

This movie is BAD, really bad.

It is hard for me to begin to decide on what part of the whole production should be first.

From the outset, the writer of the script has no sense of what it was like during the Battle of Britain. Most of the characters are told to behave like they were born in 1980. Men publicly showing "feelings" in 1940? Not like this they didn't. In letters, yes, in person...NEVER!

It basically goes downhill from there.

• The sound in 1960's Dr. Who was better than this. The voice-recordings don't match the pictures.

• Let's hope nobody got paid for composing the score as any free AI can do better.

• Acting is fine...with the terrible script they had to work with.

• Cinematography? Any middle-schooler can do better.

All-in-all a complete waste of time (and money for anyone who put any up for this). None of the people working on this show any talent in this movie.

Maybe next time...if anyone has a wad of money they can't get rid of.

Having just come out of the premier of Battle Over Britain, I would like to say a massive well done and thank you to everyone who worked on this film. It is truly amazing, what has been achieved with only a small team and a tiny budget.

The story is a beautifully drawn-out tale of a small crew of pilots, thrown together to help fight off relentless invading aerial forces from Germany, not knowing what is going to happen to them every time the call comes in to take flight. The steady pace is refreshing, allowing you time to invest in each individual character, and whilst Nathan Walker certainly has a strong personality, he never over-shadows the other crew members. The subtle orchestral score perfectly complements each scene, and it feels throughout like you are watching a style of filming and story-telling which has been lost in modern big budget productions.

Without passion and belief, movies like this simply would not exist, and it shows in abundance as you watch Battle Over Britain, and as the credits end, you are left thinking, "Wow, I wonder what they will make next" and I for one simply cannot wait.

From the point of view of the remains of a squadron, with a new replacement after losing two pilots, this story is more about what it was like for the fighter pilots both during and in-between battle.

The acting is good and the story and characters are interesting enough to keep you engaged to the end.

The evidently low-budget does however impact scenes, flying scenes in particular, with some moments more convincing than others. I swear I saw one Spitfire fly through a Heinkel wing (remember a ship doing something similar in Star Wars?) and the scenes showing battle through the gun sights were poor, whereas, oddly, the shots of German fighters in the rear view mirror were better, if still not that great. In short, the effects were low budget.

There aren't many real "Spits" around anymore and at times it seemed like they only had the use of the same one on the ground.

If you are looking for a non-stop, action-filled Battle of Britain story filled with great air scenes and dog fights, you'll probably be very disappointed by what you see here - but if you are interested in a tale about the psychological strain of war and how different pilots dealt with it, this is worth a watch.

TL:DR - Boredom under budget

EXT. FIELD, DAY.

It doesn't matter if your supposedly historical drama gets all the facts wrong. All of them.

It doesn't matter if you've only got one Spitfire.

It doesn't matter if your airbase consists of garden centre shed in a field.

It doesn't matter if your combat sequences were filmed with Microsoft Flight Simulator, or your soundtrack is off a CD called 'Generic Drama Themes vol XXIII'.

What you absolutely must have is relatable characters in deep conflict. That doen't mean 'tropes during WWII', which is all you get from BOB.

You also get a lot of nationalistic nonsense, which is disturbing if they mean it. Everyone ought to know by now that Nazi Germany called off operation Sea Lion (the invasion) partly because their invasion of Russia was due the next summer, and partly because they thought England was ready to negotiate peace. The narrative that Churchill 'won the war' was concocted by Churchill and the tory party to cover the loss of the British Empire. This film has a superannuated propaganda narrative, which makes its lack of plot even more annoying.

This movie is so atrociously bad that it feels like the actors were crawling through the scenes in slow motion, as if they were trying to conserve every ounce of energy just to get through the shoot. I wouldn't be surprised if their paychecks were just a coupon for free popcorn and a soda! The performances are so uninspired that you can almost see them dragging their feet, desperately trying to make it through each scene. The sets are so pitifully low-budget that a garden shed could pass for a high-end Hollywood studio in comparison.

The film's attempt at historical accuracy is so laughable that it might as well have been a comedy skit. From the repetitive use of the same aircraft to the painfully obvious CGI that looks like it was made by a high schooler, the whole production screams "budget constraints" and "no effort."

And let's not forget the glaring plot holes and the dialogue that makes you wonder if they were simply reading off the back of cereal boxes. Honestly, the only way this film could be more entertaining is if it were used as a drinking game-take a shot every time you see a continuity error or cringe-worthy line delivery!

In the end, the movie is so hilariously bad that you can only laugh at the sheer audacity of its existence. It's like watching a high school play with a script that was clearly written during a nap. If you need a good laugh and want to see what happens when a film crew doesn't bother to try, this is your masterpiece. 😂😂

Well, this one is a surprise and an all time low. The main locations include one static Spitfire replica, a meadow with a shed with two deck chairs and some props, and a moveable cockpit with view to the rear into the pilots face. There are a few different camera setups, such as a generic room and a part of a tower. And there is some footage from a video game, combined with crosshair view into fights within this game. That's all. Seriously, there is nothing more, except some old news reels and a Churchill quote.

Some guys occupy these sets and play scenes you remember from other, better movies. They feel like fragments of a possibility of a war time story, just empty.

It is a brave attempt to release a movie with such few assets and no idea how to tell a story. But this feels like a low budget "Battle of Britain" mockbuster.

The film has basic CGI, and its low cost B movie, but it does has its charm and its if you invest in the lives of the people in it you get an emotional story of the men who fought in the battle of Britain. I found the movie basic and good at the same time. The acting was great and so was the setting. The film is not really about the wider war even though that plays a part, its about how the men in the B section of the squadron interact with each other and how they deal with each loss. The battle scenes are ok except there is not much climbing and diving you would expect in aerial combat. Good movie overall despite its short comings, acting is good.

This film was made on a budget but to be fair that isn't a criticism. I found it interesting that they did a different more human take on the Battle of Britain. I liked the cgi air battle scenes especially the view using the rear view mirror with the flashes of gunfire zipping past them. There were a few little errors but that's me being too critical. Personally I liked the stories of the pilots and it showed how they were coping or dealing with the pressures that they were under. This "ordinary" men did extraordinary things often at the cost of their lives. In its way this film pays tribute to them and gives a nod to the ATA and their role.

I really enjoyed this movie. It gave me an idea just what these young men went through and the life expectancy of spit fighter pilot was during WW2. This war movie is very different to the action packed Hollywood productions, less blood and violence with very good acting and what I love, the characters grow on you and you actually care if they die. The action was pretty good considering the budget. I would have liked to see more aerial views of the dog fights instead of the face and window views but i guess this just made it more personal for the viewer, being in that cramp seat being shot at.

Sure, the plot was not on fire, but I was happy to follow along until I saw the same airframe belonging to the SL being handed to the newbie before being re-delivered by the ATA!

Did you really only have 1 Spitfire to film? If so, was it really too much trouble to make them look different?!

Many of the aerial battles lacked realism - did they really have HUD back then? (To be fair the actual sighting system was maybe hard to show.)

I also thought the squadron was tiny - I mean, my garden shed is bigger than their squadron HQ. Not sure it was actually big enough for a game a darts.

Anyway - there you go - over 600 chars of review.