Operation Crossbow tells a heavily fictionalised account of the Allies’ attempts to investigate and sabotage the Nazis’ development of the V-1 and V-2 weapons programme.
A team of German-speaking engineers led by American John Curtis (George Peppard) are dropped into occupied Europe to infiltrate the programme…
A weird mishmash of historical drama and men-on-a-mission war movie, Operation Crossbow is a bit of an oddity.
The film has all the qualities of a ‘on-a-mission’ movie: a solid cast, and an interesting premise.
It also has scope, with some impressive sets and widescreen photography.
The problem is a lack of focus.
The first third of the movie cuts between the British intelligence community’s attempt to figure out what the Germans are doing, and the Germans’ development of the V1 weapon.
While interesting (the clever pan from the cemetery to the V1 pulling out of its dive is great filmmaking) the film never really builds in the way it feels like the filmmakers intend.
We are introduced to Peppard and company eventually, but their mission lacks stakes up until the finale when they learn that the Nazis are testing a new long-range missile that could hit New York.
The final action sequence is fine, but if this climax was meant to feel cathartic, the film should have been more streamlined.
The film is not that interested in historical accuracy, so the filmmakers should have leaned into making it more of an adventure along the lines of Guns of Navarone.
The characters are underwritten, and as the ultimate lead, George Peppard is a miss.
He is not in the film enough, and the character is not particularly fleshed out. The character is meant to have some swagger but Peppard just comes off as a bit of a cad.
It is not in any actor’s hands. There is not a lot for any of the characters to do beyond pushing the plot forward.
Operation Crossbow is not a bad film, but it is not a particularly good one either.
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