Dissapointing. The film began well, but alas my hopes were dashed. The opening hour was very good, bringing to mind some of the great european war films such as the Tin Drum, and indeed Hauer and Krabbe were excellent throughout the film. However the film then sank further and further into self parody. Edward Fox, always a limited actor was poor, Penhaligan dreadfully irritating and self conscious( Dutch actress far better) and some of the scenes lousy. Some very obviously mocked up PzIV tanks. A ludicrous scene meant to be dark where a character dies in a lavatory incident. A ridiculous scene (X2)where Hauer dodges the bullets before escaping by swimming away!
Also some very postwar looking Dutch architecture. Hauer and Krabbe good, but FILM COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT BRITISH INVOLVEMENT! Reminds me of another rather sad unfortunate 'A bridge too far'. Good actors, good script writer. LOUSY DIRECTOR.

Verhoeven's breakthrough into the arena of mainstream international cinema sees the Dutch director weave through the complexities of several characters and plot strands along the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Holland.

A dashing Rutger Hauer, years before Hollywood snapped him up as the European character-actor he would soon become, is the protagonist racing against time to escape the occupation. But when he finally arrives in England, the exiled Queen of the Netherlands offers him a secret mission behind enemy lines. Friends help him, get killed, double-cross him, and relationships strain under the confines of what soon becomes an undercover thriller in the finest vain of Second World War heritage cinema.

After over two decades of high-concept Hollywood blockbusters, Verhoeven has proved one of the most qualified directors to tackle narratives of substance, and while some critics often slate his schlock-driven exploitative side ~ frank violence, even franker nudity, unsettling dialogue ~ there is an honesty and desire in his best work which rivals anything the more outwardly 'serious' European directors of his generation deem themselves to possess. Full of researched authenticity and stark realism, it stands as a testament to the Dutch wartime experience, the definitive companion-piece to the monumental Black Book.