bowmanblue I first watched 'Love, Honour and Obey' back when it was released in 2000. Seeing as I've always been reasonably into British gangster films, in short, I thought it was pretty cool. However, I never had it on DVD and have only just got round to re-watching it a good fifteen years later. Despite my good memories of the film, I begrudgingly have to admit that it hasn't aged all that well.Perhaps I was so into Guy Ritchie's style of cockney gangster flick of the late nineties/early 2000s that I somehow lumped this into the same nostalgically-good category. I don't want to be too harsh on it, because there are definitely some good points and I didn't totally hate it – it just let me down on a repeat viewing. We meet Johnny Lee Miller's character who is pretty much a London nobody and dreams of working his way into 'the mob' who it just so happens that his childhood friend, Jude Law, is already related to.The overall impression I got after the credits rolled was that it felt more like a 'made-for-TV' movie. And, upon looking into it, I did find that it was originally shown on the BBC before its release on DVD (or VHS in those days!). It's rare that I notice the 'direction' of a film so much. Normally, a film is cut together so smoothly that you can follow the story at all times. However, here scenes just sort of end as if the film cut out mid-dialogue. It really is a bit jarring after a while. Plus there are some scenes that don't really go anywhere and feel a little out of place in the scheme of things. And, while we're on the topic of odd scenes, this film does struggle to know what it wants to be. At first glance it's a gangster film, but it's never really dark and gritty enough to be that nasty. It throws weird comedic scenes and plot-lines in there which wouldn't be out of place in an American Pie film. However, again, it's not funny enough to be a comedy and, like the editing, it bounces all over the place.But, like I say, even now I didn't feel I totally wasted my time watching it. For a start it contains a stellar cast, headed by Ray Winstone, Johnny Lee Miller and Jude Law (the less said about Sadie Frost's performance the better). However, the stand-out performance comes from a truly menacing Rhys Ifans for his rival villain. For some reason they're all called by their actors' first names – weird, but interesting. Then you have the karaoke scenes which really are quite fun (not to mention catchy!).There was still just about enough nostalgia here to entertain me and, if you're a major fan of any of the leads, you'll probably find enjoyment during its hour and a half run-time. However, I can't see it being regarded as much of a classic in the long run. It was kind of trying to ride the coattails of Lock, Stock and hope no one really noticed. I did at the time, but it doesn't now.

nikksen_5 i guess around minute 20, triggered by the third annoying karaoke sequence - i turned this thing off...therefore i did not see the whole movie...therefore i cannot give it an honest # rating.(and btw i'm one of those who hates to not finish a movie once begun regardless)what a waste of cast - by that i mean jude lawgranted i started watching this as a netflix-back-to-back-cockney thing right after experiencing "Gangster No.1" which conversely was somewhat awesome and riveting on a number of levels.on netflix "this thing" popped up "because i just finished watching Gangster No.1"

jamlee I love this movie. Was spending a lot of time with some Welsh guys in Sydney and they recommended it to me as I am an Elvis and karaoke fan. Probably captures what spare time crims have on their hands better than any other movie. A touch of the Sopranos contained here. The cast is great and everybody I show this movie to thinks it's great. Anyone who doesn't like it is just a muppet and is mugging us all off. I have followed other Ray Winstone movies as a result of this. Probably the only movie that Jude Law looks tough in as well. I think the fact that the actors use their real first names in the movie adds to the appeal. If you don't laugh at this then you have a problem, black comedy at it's best. " FIX BAYONETS !!!"

Mmyers2003 CONTAINS SPOILERS The thing that has to be remembered is that this film clearly wasn't intended to be serious - We Brits just can't seem to help being cynical in our films.I think what many people have trouble with is the varying change of style - Sometimes its serious (like the ending) and sometimes its a comedy (the dressing up in bridesmaids dresses etc) and this can lead to confusion over how to receive the film.The best aspect is the cast - Ray Winstone (deserves proper stardom), Rhys Ifans (One to watch), Jude Law (you already know him), Jonny Lee Miller (another one to watch), Kathy Burke (seriously underrated actress), Sean Pertwee (vastly improved actor).Overall I liked it for its funny moments. If you decide to buy it yourselves, don't expect a serious Oscar-winning gangster film but rather a cynical view of British crime.