Wet Job (1981)

So much average

Excellent but underrated film

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

"Callan: Wet Job," was supposed to have led to another T.V series but it didn't due to the poor ratings this episode received. It's a good thing a series didn't result as "Callan: Wet Job" is very badly made. The plot is dull, confusing and uneventful. The only scenes worth seeing, are those with Callan and Lonely. It is worth it to see these legendary T.V characters together one last time after all the years that had elapsed. The chemistry of Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter is still in evidence as Lonely secures Callan another gun. When asked if he needs any further help, Callan pauses for a couple of seconds and says he doesn't. He urges Lonely to leave Callan's shop immediately and that is it. Lonely walks off into the distance and we see the final curtain come down on one of British television's leading partnerships. There isn't any action or incident to speak of, just a meandering story.

Looking at the reviews and comments there is a fact that seems to have slipped people's minds.Wet Job is a remake of the original TV play "A Magnum for Schneider" that introduced us to the original Character of Callan.As remakes go it's not bad and if you're feeling philosophical a nice close to the character.That said like a lot of made for TV movies tastes have changed, production values improved.But as a piece of nostalgia and a good introduction to Callan, and the very gritty 70s cold war spy Drama it's well worth a look.Admittedly if Mission Impossible is more your thing then you're likely to be disappointed :D

There were some great episodes of that classic TV series, Callan. And there was the odd one that was a little disappointing. This follow-up show is one of the latter unfortunately.Edward Woodward is intense, as usual, in his old role of David Callan. Russel Hunter is brilliant in his return as Lonely (damn that man was a fine actor).Where it mainly fails is that the story meanders, and never quite develops a consistent plot. It's almost as if the writers didn't care where it was going, because they knew there'd be enough loyal Callan fans out there to ensure good ratings anyway.Also, production quality was poor, even for those of us who grew up on British TV of that era, and are used to seeing things like stage lights reflecting in people's glasses. The soundtrack and incidental music are almost amusingly bad.For a Callan fan, it's still worth watching. Just don't expect a classic.

For fans of the original series of "Callan" this is disappointing. It is of course, fantastic to see Edward Woodward and Russell Hunter working together again but the very poor plot, stiff acting in parts and absolutely terrible incidental music makes this a poor effort overall I think.Hugh Walters is very good as the new Hunter and George Sewell is also a great addition to this one off. Felicity Harrison plays the new Liz, albeit only for a few minutes. There are very few action scenes in this and is focused mostly on the life of Callan since leaving his old job and the sub-plot surrounding Callan's landlady is actually pretty dire.Overall, it is worth seeing if you are a Callan and/or Edward Woodward fan, simply to find out what happened to the hero, but don't be surprised if you are disappointed by this episode - a great shame, but it is understandable why this is unlikely to shown again.