Blu-ray Review: Lewis Collins In The SAS Actioner WHO DARES WINS

Who Dares Wins is a 1982 British action film, from director Ian Sharp and producer Euan Lloyd. The film was inspired by the real-life events which saw the SAS storm the Iranian Embassy in London following a siege in 1980. Lewis Collins, the star of The Professionals takes the lead role of Peter Skellen, an SAS operative who goes undercover in a group of Nuclear arms protesters (led by Judy Davis) who want to cause political unrest in the UK.

Sharp’s film plays like an SAS advert, highlighting the work that the unit does in great detail. While it’s interesting to watch, sometimes it just feels that certain scenes have been shoe-horned into the film, just for the hell of it. However, it works in spite of this – mainly due to Lewis Collins’ charisma (why was he never a big star?). The climax is well staged, but Collins is sidelined for much of the last forty minutes – a criminal move when you consider that he’s the star of the movie.

Sure, Who Dares Wins is silly at times and the politics is dated, but it is still a very enjoyable thriller, and it’s good to see producer Euan Lloyd attempting to deliver an English action film which matches the might of Hollywood. It’s a shame the mooted sequel never materialised.

Special Features

Another great package. The film includes a commentary with producer Euan Lloyd and director Ian Sharp. The pair talk about making the film and they ponder why star Lewis Collins never became James Bond. There‘s also an interesting documentary on Lloyd titled Last of The Gentleman Producers. Much like Arrow DVD’s The Wild Geese, the film also comes with a bonus movie. This time it’s The Commander, another Eurotrash actioner with Lewis Collins, co-starring Lee Van Cleef and Donald Pleasance.