Mutiny On The Buses Film Review

When TV shows especially sitcoms get made into films it's usually a one and done deal with there being only a very shockingly small amount of those films being popular enough to earn a sequel. With the film that i'm going to be talkin to you all about today being a sequel to a film that was not only based off of a really successful seventies UK sitcom but also one that where the first film was more popular then Diamonds Are Forever during it's initial release and so then join me as I review the film that has alot on monkeying around with a lion with the film in question being called simply just "Mutiny On The Buses" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when Stan's brother in law Arthur is made redundant he has to teach him how to drive a bus so that he could become a bus driver and Stan can finally move out of the house and get married. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as while the plot of the film does follow the very similar sketch show like format of the previous film which does yes make it hard to tell what the main plot of the film could even be at times here tho there was at the very least an attempt to come up with a plot and not just have a series of scenes that are only very loosely connected as the plot of this film is alot more at the forefront then what it was in the previous and while yes this films plot isn't as strong as the plot of say the third film for example you can tell that the makers of this film were at the very least trying to make a film and not just have the plot be basically that of an extended episode of the show which was very much the case with the first film as that film pretty much didn't have a plot but in saying that tho it's the previous film that's alot more better then what this film this is despite the fact that this film has the much more better but still very weakly done plot as this film plot is still pretty weak but in saying that tho this is only a plot that could have worked in one of the movies as it would have been butchered if it was the plot of an episode of the show with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Reg Varney as Stan Butler , Doris Hare as Mum and Michael Robbins as Arthur Rudge. Also starring in this film is Anna Karen as Olive , Stephen Lewis as Inspector 'Blakey' Blake , Bob Grant as Jack Harper , Janet Mahoney as Susy , Kevin Brennan as Mr Jenkins , Pat Ashton as Norah , Tex Fuller as Harry , Caroline Dowdeswell as Sandra , Damaris Hayman as Mrs Jenkins , Jan Rennison as Gloria , Juliet Duncan as Gladys , Bob Todd as The New Inspector , David Lodge as The Safari Guard and Wayne Westhorpe as Olive's Baby.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With all of the actors from the TV show turning in some really good performances with this being something that was to be expected as they are of course reprising their roles from the show and therefor have had years of experience in playing their respective characters and would know how best to play them where the quality in acting does dip a little bit is in the films more newer actors as to be frank they aren't all that good in this film especially when there acting with the series regular actors blunt in saying that tho the films more newer actors are 9ndeed really good in their own right it's just that the series regular actors are better because of the fact that they've had that experience in playing their characters in the past with the films best actor really being a tie between both Reg Varney and Stephen Lewis as both actors do get the chance to show of just what it is that they can do from a comedy point of view which does have the add on affect of making what could have been as being dull and lifeless jokes seem all the more funnier but the edge does go to Reg Varney who despite being really funny in this film can also be really dramatic as well with this being something that does show us the audience just wat it is that he could do as an actor as well with the acting that's in this very film not really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so bad as it gives none of this films actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does harm the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

This film does also fail a little bit when it comes to it's characters as while the characters from the show are passable that's more due to the fact that the makers of this film had already written for them for years on the show that this film is based off of. As alot of the films characters are just kind of there with none of them having anything that's remotely interesting about them which is fine for the characters that are crossing over from the show but for the films newer characters those are the ones that do suffer the most because of it as none of them are that well written in the first place with only one maybe two of them being memorable characters in the first place and while yes it's not unusual for films that are based off of TV shows to have poorly written characters when it comes to the film version that doesn't mean that we have to excuse it when we see it if anything we should be calling it out as we know how talented the writers of the film could be as nine times out of ten they would also be the creators of the show and yet when we do get a fi version of a TV show where the new characters are memorable like for example The Inbetweeners Movie it helps to make that film all the more memorable because of the fact that you remember those characters and whatever it is that they do in the film where as in this film because of the fact that not even a handful of the new characters are memorable characters the film itself does become less memorable because of it this is despite the fact that this film is actually pretty good it just needed memorable characters that are well written to help make it even more better then what it already is in the first place.

One of the thins that both the previous film and the following film Holiday On The Buses do better then this film is the fact that they actually include alot more scenes with Stan actually driving his bus. Which might seem like a small thing but for a film that's about a bus driver and the goings on at a bus depot you do kind of expect to see alot more scenes with Stan driving his bus and where as the previous film knew to do that this film went the complete opposite and barely featured not only scenes with the bus itself but even scenes with the bus being driven and yet the very few scenes that we get with the bus being driven are actually some of the most funniest scenes in the film which makes you wonder why the makers of this film chose not to feature the bus that much in this film as it very easily could have been that it was hard to film the bus in motion or that it was hard to get shots of the characters on the bus or it could have been a health and safety issue alot of the time either it is something that does make this film standout amongst the three On The Buses films and is something that makes you wonder why the bus just wasn't featured as much in this film then it was in both the next and previous films both of which do have lots of scenes with various buses being driven with the makers of this film instead choosing to put more focus on the goings on in the bus depot which I guess does make sense as that does still connect to it the characters in some way but at the same time tho when the TV show used to show the characters of Stan , Jack and Blakey all doing their jobs alot of the time it makes you wonder why this film couldn't do the exact same thing as while the bus depot scenes are good and all the scenes on the bus are just more funnier in the film.

Whilst the makers of this film seem to have still not yet figured out that we the audience can still see the top of the bus depot set. What they have figured out is that the romance plot with Stand and Susy was both not that bad and yet at the same time still pretty bad as while the film does rather rightfully give it alot of attention by showing us not only how the couple meet but also how a simple misunderstanding can and in this case does lead to a whole lot of trouble for the Stan Butler character it's also one that really could have been better with this being due to the fact that there's really nothing there for Susy as a character other then being Stan's fiancé and that's really it as all of the scenes that the character is in she's only talking about either getting married or finding a place for the pair of them to live once they do get married and that's married with that being something that does make there plot seem all the more dull and boring then what it really could have been as if you've seen ether the show that both this film and and the other two films are based off of On The Buses or even the previous film of the same name as the show then we already know how it's going to end for Stan and therefor when they do breakup at the end of the film it's not as upsetting as the makers of the film really think that it is with this being due to the fact that Susy especially in the latter half of the film wasn't made out to be all that likable as character where as if more dimension was given to her like maybe we could see that she has a funny side to her or maybe even a loving and caring side to her both of which are things that could have very easily have been worked in to the film but because we get to see none of those both the character and her romance with Stan fall flat this is despite the fact that both Reg Varney and Janet Mahoney do have some wonderful chemistry together and are believable as a couple.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and twenty four minuets and twenty seven seconds. Which is to be fair pretty much the exact grand total running time that you'd expect a film like this one to have in the first place with the film not really having the right amount of plot there to over that amount of running time in the first place as the film only has enough main plot for about forty to maybe forty five minuets at a stretch with the rest of the films running time being covered with a plot about Arthur trying to become a bus driver with the film not even using it's current running time all that wisely as the film very easily could have had enough plot there with it's main plot to cover it's current running time if it just developed it's main plot and that's really it as while the main plot isn't the strongest plot there is it's also more then capable to support this film with very little help from the far more weaker side plot and if the makers of this film did choose to develop it's main plot all the more then it would have allowed to the further develop the relationship between Stan and Susy as well and while granted this really isn't the kind of the film that requires a strong relationship between two characters to make it work it is something that would have worked given just how pivotal that there relationship is to the plot of the film in the first place with the film not even taking the time to fully develop any of it's characters either which again is fine for the characters from the show as then you could very well make the argument that they got there development in the show itself but the films newer characters get nothing in terms of character development and they are the ones that really could have used it the most but i really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / resented to us in this very film well then in all honesty i in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad. With the film alot of jokes that are very hit and miss most of which do include Stan and his family as while they are very funny characters and their actors do their best to make the jokes funny there just not given alot of things that are actually funny things to say or do but when those characters do get something funny to say or do it is something that could be seen as being funny with the best example of this being when Arthur refuses to wear tennis balls on the back of his pajama top to stop him snoring with that scene being something that could have been seen as being painfully unfunny but due to how over the top the situation is in the first place it is something that does become funny again with the best joke in the whole entire film being when the bus depot has a fire drill and everything that could go wrong does go wrong which results in a highly chaotic yet highly funny scene which is a good example of just how funny that this film could be with it being made clear that there is alot more of an effort to give us alot of laugh out loud funny moments as even the scene at the zoo where the bus gets invaded by and both Stand and Blakey get terrorized by a single lion is one that's really funny with the whole film having alot of alot of jokes that are at times some really funny jokes in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall out of the three On The Buses films this one is one of the more better ones just due to the fact that unlike the first film this one does actually have a plot to speak off but at the same time tho it's not as funny nor is it as ambitious as what the third film but with that said this really is still a fairly enjoyable film in it's own right in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 5.5 out of 10 from me. 

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very revue well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images really from this very film being the really great Google Images this is really because of the fact that really all of the images that I really indeed got and really used from Google Images are all really high quality really with all of the images that really are all and of course really currently up and on the really great and the really solid Google Images really are all being really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being fairly high in definition.