Film

North Sea Hijack

A 1980 action thriller where Roger Moore plays Rufus ffolkes, an eccentric anti-terrorism expert who leads an unconventional commando team against hijackers threatening North Sea oil rigs. It's silly, earnest, and oddly charming—Moore doing deadpan eccentricity rather than smoothness, with practical stunt work and a genuinely weird sense of humour. For anyone who enjoys 70s-80s action that doesn't take itself too seriously.

TMDb rating3.2

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The Spy Who Loved Me1977

Moore's best Bond outing: charismatic, funny, and willing to be ridiculous without losing momentum. Jaws is a genuinely great villain, and the underwater sequences set a visual standard.

But The plot is thin, the pacing occasionally sluggish, and it leans heavily on gadgets and spectacle over character. If you want substance, keep moving.

The Spy Who Loved Me poster

Octopussy1983

Moore at his most committed to the Bond formula, playing against a genuinely intriguing cast and a story that (mostly) hangs together. The circus climax is absurd fun.

But It's bloated and slow in places, and the exotic-location exoticism wears thin. The Fabergé egg plot sits awkwardly with the geopolitical stakes.

Octopussy poster

For Your Eyes Only1981

Moore's most restrained Bond film—grittier, more grounded, with genuine tension and a mountaineering climax that delivers real stakes. Carole Bouquet is excellent.

But It's darker and less fun than his other outings, which might feel like a lateral move rather than an upgrade. Some find it a step down in terms of sheer entertainment value.

For Your Eyes Only poster

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Die Hard1988

Both are about an unconventional outsider assembling an improvised team to stop a contained hostage crisis through intelligence and equipment rather than overwhelming force.

A German action film where a cop fights terrorists in a high-rise. It shares the DNA: eccentrics vs. professionals, a contained location, gear and ingenuity mattering more than muscles. But where ffolkes is deadpan and genteel, John McClane is exhausted, hurt, and furious—the mood inverted entirely while the structure sings the same song.

But It's brutal and occasionally grimy in a way ffolkes isn't. If you loved the whimsy and the Britishness, this will feel like a different film wearing the same shape.

Die Hard poster
More like this (7)

The Italian Job1969

The definitive ensemble heist film: witty, energetic, and entirely about the charm of the plan and the people executing it. Michael Caine anchors a genuinely funny cast.

But The plot is slight—it's really just banter and a car chase—and the gender politics are egregious by modern standards. Some find it lightweight.

The Italian Job poster

Ice Station Zebra1968

A Cold War thriller with a submarine, espionage, and practical tension. Rock Hudson and Ernest Borgnine bring a professional gravitas that elevates the B-movie premise.

But It's slow, especially early on, and the geopolitical stakes feel remote. The pacing assumes you're patient with exposition and buildup.

Ice Station Zebra poster

The Poseidon Adventure1972

A disaster film where an ensemble cast fights to survive inside a capsized ocean liner. It's earnest, surprising in who lives and dies, and architecturally inventive.

But The disaster-movie formula is dated, and some of the acting is broad. If you're after subtlety or character depth, this is spectacle over everything else.

The Poseidon Adventure poster

Sink the Bismarck!1960

A taut WWII thriller about hunting a battleship, mixing naval action with war-room strategy. Kenneth More is reliable, and the cat-and-mouse structure genuinely works.

But It's heavily dependent on knowing who the Bismarck is and caring about the historical context. Purely as thriller mechanics, it can feel procedural and cold.

Sink the Bismarck! poster

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three1974

A hostage thriller about subway hijackers that works because it respects both the criminals' planning and the cops' procedure. Walther Matthau vs. Robert Shaw, perfectly matched.

But It's procedural and talky, and the political edge has dulled. If you want action momentum over character tension, you'll find it slow.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three poster

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.1964

Both films and the series treat the eccentric expert and his team as the real substance—the villain and the stakes matter less than watching people you like solve problems together.

A spy series where the fun is in the details: gadgets, locations, and the interplay between characters who genuinely like each other. It's stylish 1960s espionage that knows it's not Serious Spy Fiction and doesn't apologize.

But It's episodic, and some episodes are genuinely thin on plot. If you need narrative momentum and stakes, the standalone structure will frustrate you.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. poster

SAS: Rogue Heroes2022

Both celebrate the British military eccentric—the person who doesn't fit the system but saves the day precisely because they don't think like the system expects. Same soul, different eras.

A miniseries about the actual founding of the SAS in WWII, mixing comedy and genuine military chaos. It's about improvisation, character, and people figuring out how to do the impossible with wrong equipment and no authority.

But It's contemporary TV: glossier, faster, with modern sensibilities. The earnestness of the '80 film might feel more honest by comparison.

SAS: Rogue Heroes poster

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