This was a recommendation and a movie I'd certainly never had watched otherwise. Not only do I generally dislike British cinema but I hate any "Gangster" related nonsense especially such low rent stuff like this.
It's a revenge tale, a bunch of old school gangsters seeking retribution against young hoodlums who take the life of one their own. On paper this movie stood absolutely no chance with me, but it does have redeeming features.
It's paced perfectly, it's wonderfully constructed and the 4 veterans do a fantastic job especially Ogilvy and Cosmo. It succeeds in making you absolutely detest the antagonists, to levels I haven't seen since Eden Lake (2008).
But on the flipside our heroes are also villians, it's difficult rooting for a side when essentially it's bad vs bad. I don't care if the youth are more obnoxious, in the grand scheme of things I'm sure the protagonists have considerably more blood under their nails. Much like the critically acclaimed Attack the Block (2011), you expect me to cheer on these wretches just because the opposition is worse?
And more? It suffers with the same problem as Eden Lake. Namely, it's too real. What I mean by that is chav scum and youth gangs are rife, you see them to some extent daily regardless of where you are in the country and quite frankly I don't want to see them in movies as well. The first 10 minutes of the film made me deeply uncomfortable for a host of reasons.
So though the film is wonderfully made it suffers due to its own successes.
For me this was better than it should have been, but I just can't get behind a movie with such themes.
The Good:
Very well made
Some great performances
The Bad:
Deeply uncomfortable viewing in places
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Hospital security isn't what it used to be
