North Sea Hijack, or "ffolkes" as it is know in America, is a very solid thriller. It is the story of a group of extortionists who threaten to destroy an off-shore drilling rig and production platform in the North Sea unless they are paid an exorbitant sum of money. The half-dozen or so bad guys led by Anthony Perkins hijack a Norwegian supply ship and use it to plant mines beneath the two targets. The British government is the largest shareholder in these oil producing structures, and rather than pay the bad guys off, they hire a private mercenary (Moore) and his team to dispose of them. The film plays out somewhat realistically and ends in a very tense conclusion.<br /><br />Roger Moore, hiding under a beard, plays Rufus Excalibur ffolkes. He is quite a man's man. The guy lives in a castle with his team of mercs and several cats. He allows no women anywhere near him. ffolks appears to be a very wealthy and intelligent man who is never far from a bottle of Scotch. Luckily for the British government, Lloyd's of London had already recruited ffolkes to devise a plan to overcome just this type of situation five months before the incident occurs. The Prime Minister agrees to use him, and before you know it, Ffolkes is out on the oil platform ready to dispose of the extortionists.<br /><br />The bad guys are led by Anthony Perkins who wildly overplays as Lou Kramer. This is not the timid mamma's boy Perkins played as Norman Bates. His Kramer is a boisterous, loud, and violently paranoid creep who will kill anyone who even looks at him wrong. He only shares two scenes with Moore, and in both of them he tells him menacingly, "I don't like your face." Also on the team is an explosives expert played by Tarantino/Rodriguez regular Michael Parks. You may have to look twice to recognize him as he's hiding under a pair of the thickest glasses you've ever seen. All of the villains on this team are creepy and trigger happy jerks, and you'll be glad to see them go. Also on board is James Mason as a crusty admiral sent out with ffolkes to see things through. You tell me this guy was a pacifist in real life??? Come on! Roger Moore's ffolkes is quite an enigma, and certainly the opposite of his James Bond character in many ways. His hatred for women and love of felines is something this critic has never seen before in a movie character. In a scene very near the end, he is escorting a young woman to a shower to warm her up after she has saved his life and helped his team. For an instant we may suspect ffolkes will even give her a kiss as she turns and smiles at him. Alas, he merely thanks her and walks away. It makes one wonder what might be going on behind those castle walls between ffolkes and his team of mercs once the day's training is finished. Overall this is a very good and somewhat overlooked film. Check it out if you'd like to see what Moore was up to between Bond films. 8 of 10 stars.<br /><br />The Hound.