Foyle's War (TV Series) War Games (2003) User Reviews

More insight into wartime Britain

[elderkin1 · 9/10 · 21 September 2007]

Every episode of Foyle's War shows some novel aspect of Britain between the onset of the war in 1939 and the entry of America in 1941. The atmosphere is one of imminent invasion from Germany with a Nazi victory likely.

This episode touches on corporate collaborators - companies who struck deals with the Nazis in anticipation of a German victory. It also shows the raw material resource shortages and the salvage drives that results.

Hardly the stuff of history books.

Another first-rate episode.

In War, Everything Is Precious

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 1 August 2016]

There is criminal, treasonous action going on, while military exercises are being performed. It involves a boarding house where some interesting characters are staying and a series of convenient murders. A safe cracker, living with his sister has come home and is having trouble accepting that their farm business is less than flourishing. This man is approached by a bigwig to steal a box from a house. He gets the box, but a pair of his former colleagues begin to shake him down. Unfortunately, before he can gain from his evil doings, he is shot in the head. Normally, I don't like kid actors, but there are a group of them trying to win some chocolate by collecting newspapers and scrap for the war effort. They run across secret information that connects one of the men with the Nazis. The actors filling these roles are quite believable and charming. This was a highly entertaining episode.

A very clever story. Great episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 23 October 2019]

War Games once again sees Foyle having to investigate the ugly side of the war. A business plans to make a fortune, by dealing with the Nazis.

The opening scenes are wonderfully dramatic. The story of the kids going around collecting for the war effort was a nice touch, and added a great bit of humour.

The War Games themselves provide some nice moments, you half expect Mainwaring and Corporal Jones to pop up.

Glorious production values throughout, it's as slick as always. Great costumes and design, some great scenes, including Foyle blissfully fishing by the river.

Notable for being the one that features Emily Blunt, a huge star, and a terrific actress, I thought she was excellent, as was Laurence Fox. I love it because we get Hilda Pierce, one of the best characters and performances throughout the series.

Terrific. 9/10

Good Episode, But One Minor Flaw

[azjimnson · 19 November 2009]

Re-watching Foyle's War episodes on DVD, I am struck with how the series improved in the second season. The mystery elements became more complex--with more potential suspects to be sorted out--and the period detail was rendered more convincingly. The only problem I had with this episode was how quickly the industrialist's son (played by Lawrence Fox) caved in and admitted his guilt. I realize this is part of the convention of these mystery shows, but one would think this arrogant young man would feel he could easily win against a British court, and would, therefore not blurt out a confession. One of the real treats of this episode is seeing lovely Emily Blunt, before her great success in theatrical films ("My Summer of Love," "The Devil Wears Prada"), playing Lucy.

War games and murder

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 31 October 2017]

Loved 'Foyle's War' and was immediately hooked when first getting into it. Love it even more now, on re-watches things that didn't quite make sense at first are clearer and things that were not noticed or appreciated before are and much admired. Everything that came over as brilliant on first viewings still are brilliant on re-watches.

Previous to this episode, none of the 'Foyle's War' episodes were bad, all of them actually being great or more. The same applies with "War Games". The all too quick and easy way the truth is revealed, and it's too out of character too for the character in question, brings things down a little but that's all there is. Like with many 'Foyle's War' episodes, on re-watch there was much more appreciation had for how well established the character development, tone and themes are for so early on and things that didn't quite connect entirely at first made more sense on re-watches.

Have always admired the visual detail that went into 'Foyle's War' and how high quality the production values are, with beautiful costumes, the evocative way the characters are made up, the look of the houses and cars, pretty locations and authentic-looking scenery. The music is in keeping with the mood and doesn't overpower the drama while still making an impact.

Writing is intelligent, sophisticated and thought-provoking, establishing Foyle's personality with so much depth already and providing some tense and heart-tugging moments. The story is complicated, with a lot of strands that requires full attention, but clever and from start to finish intriguing. It paces itself deliberately but with so much going on it's never once dull and the twists and turns that slowly unfold keep coming. All the conflicts and how the period is portrayed are handled beautifully and tastefully.

One thing that wasn't picked up by me but now is and admired hugely is the tackling of what was seen as truths but some really misconceptions and seeing British during the war in a new light. This was a bold move and dealt with a lot of honesty and tact. The background information is so well researched and is every bit as interesting as the mystery itself. The character tensions were also handled very well and added a lot of intrigue. Andrew is becoming more interesting with every episode.

Michael Kitchen is truly superb as Foyle, subtle, intensely determined, commanding and above all human. One of the most interesting television detectives there's ever been and Kitchen has rarely been better. Honeysuckle Weeks is charming and loyal, with some nice touches of subtle humour as ever, and Anthony Howell is wonderful.

Ian Redford, Sarah Winman, Laurence Fox and Alan Howard are the supporting standouts, while the episode is also notable for containing the first credited acting role of a radiant Emily Blunt.

Summing up, excellent once again. 9/10 Bethany Cox

War Games

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 22 July 2018]

A food manufacturing business owned by Sir Reginald Walker has concluded a top secret deal via his son Simon to continue doing business with Nazi Germany. The secretary is furtively passing the information on to someone in Hastings and falls to her death.

Sir Reginald Walker's safe is later burgled by a local called Markham on behest of his defence barrister, Stephen Beck (Alan Howard) who happens to be a refugee from Germany. The burglar finds the papers that Beck wants but he hides them instead and is later found dead when some war games are held in the Walker estate.

Foyle is the referee for the war games where he comes across Sergeant Milner's predecessor, Jack Devlin who signed up to go to war. Devlin was involved in an earlier arrest of Markham and disliked him.

This episode looks at the role of Nazi collaborators during the war. You get the sense that some British companies were not just doing business with Germany for money but that the bosses behind the companies shared their ideology which is certainly the case here.

This story had wonderful production design it was like looking at one of the early Poirot episodes. With Alan Howard in the cast it meant Michael Kitchen had to raise his game and it shows in the later scenes between the two.

I think this could had been a much better story but it felt at times just too convenient. Those little kids who just happen to find important papers before they were burned. How did they manage to just go in and out of the Walker estate so easily all the time when they had Doberman's supposedly protecting it?

Fun but forced

[deansscreen · 7/10 · 19 October 2020]

This episode seems forced. Big industrialist gets caught dealing in a slimy way with Nazis and so he shoots himself. His son is even slimier and when he's caught he confesses without a whimper. Little kids accidentally find vital evidence just when Foyle needs it. Very watchable but the villains are cardboard and the good guys benefit from obvious and overly convenient coincidences. The episode lacks the emotional punch of other episodes. However: It is still a Foyle so it's still worthwhile.

Foyle's whiff

[jhochstny · 1/10 · 17 June 2022]

An episode on the problem of ferreting out covert companies trading with The enemies of the Allies during the war would have been intriguing.

Unfortunately, this one depends on a series of absurdities that would have embarrassed a Victorian melodramatist.

Among them, a German lawyer somehow practicing in an English court in 1940 without anyone raising an eyebrow. Even a "good German" would not have been doing so in the midst of hostilities. Another, the fanatical English son responsible for the murder was also somehow responsible for the denunciation that forced said jurist to flee...but if he had been in opposition to the regime, he already would have been known by the police, and wouldn't have been the subject of a denunciation. And then they somehow wind up in the same orbit over in England.

The denouement is singularly silly since it requires that audience to believe that in autumn 1940, the English had a list of Jewish prisoners rounded up on the Continent along with an inventory of goods expropriated, which would be necessary for Foyle to explain how incriminating the silver box was. Of course, such tracking was only possible long after the war, unless the Nazis were so nice and thorough that they provided British spies with such inventories of persons & their stolen possessions.

Unfortunately, this is what happens when the writers forget that the story itself is dramatic enough and doesn't require their chest-thumping & music hall villains.

A Disappointing Episode

[lewis-51 · 6/10 · 12 March 2024]

On the whole I loved watching Foyle's War fifteen years ago when it ran on PBS here America. I don't think I saw them all, so it has been rewarding to watch them again, all of them, now that it is easy to get them on streaming services.

The one was disappointing. The basic plot was good and should have been developed better. As it is, there are stereotypical characters and too too convenient plot contrivances.

Early on, a secretary is murdered by being tossed out a high window. Much later we meet her father. He happens to be a barrister who also met Sgt. Milner earlier in a totally unrelated scene. Weird; unnecessary; makes no sense.

A group of kids are able to sneak into an estate and happen to find and walk off with a valuable document. They toss it onto a big pile of other papers they are collecting for the war effort and Foyle is able to find it quite easily.

Similarly, a valuable box that is a second "MacGuffin" is hidden in a clever spot but is found quite conveniently. It's just too pat.

The "bad guys" are so bad it's almost laughable.

I hope the next episode will be more realistic.

Propaganda

[Warin_West-El · 4/10 · 27 June 2023]

The writer presented a stereotypical and highly unrealistic story. I agree with the reviewer who described the villains as cardboard. Unlike "They Fought in the Fields" (Season 3, episode 3), the Nazis in this episode were portrayed without nuance. It was a completely simplistic characterization: Nazi = Bad, English=Good. Which was absurd when you consider that by the end of the story the "bad guys" in this episode turned out to be ENGLISH.

As another reviewer pointed out: there was a missed opportunity to focus on uncovering companies that were violating the Trading with the Enemy Act. That would have been an interesting episode.

ALSO at this point in the series, melodrama has become emphasized to the point that absurd events are now being written into the plot. For example, in this episode, little kids conveniently recovered evidence essential to Foyle's case. Which, of course, had nothing to do with Foyle's acumen to solve the mystery.

I enjoy Michael Kitchen's acting so I will stick with this series. But it's becoming less and less enjoyable to watch.