The Formula (1980)
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Duration: 117 minuten
Country:
United States / West Germany
Directed by: John G. Avildsen
Stars: Marlon Brando, George C. Scott and John Gielgud
IMDb score:
5,6 (3.075)
Releasedate: 19 December 1980
The Formula plot
"Big Oil. Big Money. Big Mystery. Everyone’s out to make a killing."
The Nazis developed a formula for a synthetic fuel during World War II. However, this formula has been lost and all the people who came into contact with it have been killed. A police officer, whose friend is also murdered, tries to get hold of the formula to stop the murders.
Actors and actresses
Barney Caine
Adam Steiffel
Lisa
Dr. Abraham Esau
Arthur Clements
Kay Neeley
General Helmut Kladen / Frank Tedesco
Hans Lehman
Major Tom Neeley
Tony
Reviews & comments
gotti
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- 14076 messages
- 5901 votes
An uninteresting and slow-moving story, and above all, incredibly dull. I wasn't even impressed by the scene between Scott and Brando at the end. A huge disappointment...
1.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
thunderball
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- 5900 messages
- 1420 votes
Just looked at it...
A decent thriller with a fairly well-conceived plot, but the execution wasn't particularly special. I liked the beginning, set during WWII, but after that, it was basically nothing more than Scott tracking down one person after another, meeting them, and then often killing them off.
I also didn't find Brando's contribution particularly special; in fact, I often had the idea that, with his dentures in, he was portraying more of a caricature of a multinational director.
I have to admit that I fell asleep twice, once right in the middle of the film, about five or six minutes in, and right at the end, just before the credits, when Scott had already left Brando's office, but maybe I missed a punch line???
It was a nice way to pass the time and I enjoyed myself reasonably well, but nothing more than that.
3.5 stars.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10012 messages
- 4678 votes
Not that easy to follow and it is a talkie so attention is required.
The Formula is packaged as a detective story about the murder of John Neely, a friend of Barney Caine, who is assigned to investigate the case. This leads the detective to Berlin, onto the trail of a project that dates back to the end of World War II.
I found it all too explanatory and convoluted to be truly good, and the film gets a bit lost in its own complex plot. No one really gives a great performance in this film, not even Brando, who has little screen time. It's fairly disappointing overall, but I thought the story, somewhere between a crime and a spy film, worked best.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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