The Film that Would be Grand

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2009)

A couple of British blokes make their way to a primitive land near India in hopes of declaring themselves kings. A short story by Kipling is stretched a little thin in this overlong adventure. The first part of the film, before the journey to Kafiristan, is rather long and uninteresting. It is well acted by Connery and Caine as the duo seeking the crown, Jaffrey as their faithful friend in the foreign land, and Plummer as Kipling. Huston tries to make a grand adventure out of it, but there is not enough material to support such an ambitious effort. Some of the violence is gratuitous, and Kipling's imperialistic views can be hard to stomach.