I’m a World War II buff. So when I saw HBO’s Into the Storm, a biographical film about Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the war, I just had to have it. With Brendan Gleeson in the leading role, I figured the movie just had to be good. Boy was I wrong.

It’s not that Brendan Gleeson is bad. On the contrary, every prominent member of the cast was quite dynamic and believable. Gleeson was magnificent as Churchill, Janet McTeer had clearly studied the life of her character (his wife, Clementine), Iain Glen played a lovable King George…I mean, they were all just fantastic.

But the script itself was horrendous. It floats, without warning, between Churchill waiting for election results, after the war, and Churchill in a bunker as Luftwaffe flies over London. Then it’s back to Churchill trying to take his mind off the election results. But before you know it, you’re watching Jock Collville — Churchill’s servant — inform his boss that the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor.

Now, there’s a fluid and entertaining way to float from one moment in time to another. But with this film you felt as if you were moving from one block to another, as if you’re watching a sequence of unique sketches. This annoying movement only stops on occasion to permit Gleeson the opportunity to — again effectively — deliver a famous Churchill quote.

Put simply, the actors deserved a first-rate script to match their acting talents. It’s unfortunate they weren’t provided with one.