A_Different_Drummer
One of the great unanswered questions for film historians of the future to ponder is whether "QT" really did anyone a favour when he pioneered an entirely new genre of movie that looked at hit men as more than one-dimensional...? (Although arguably he was copying the French, who, moreso than most, had played with this kind of film before). In any case, over the last 20 years - this review written in 2014 -- film-goers have seen more movies about hit men than they ever wanted to. Combine this with the more recent phenomena of the hardcore "gang" movies coming out of the UK (seemingly endless and non-stoppable) and it is easy to see how reviewers and audiences alike could become so jaded that they miss the gems. This is a gem. I am a big fan of Roth (see another side of him for example in The Legend of 1900) and I think he elevates any film he is in. The script is especially clever. It melds the whole hit-man counter-culture story with a nice twist on the old "coming of age" theme. Geez, there was a time Dustin Hoffman could have played the boy! The whole production works well, is engaging, and the twist at the end is just plain fun. Recommended.
waldog2006
There's way too much love for this movie on IMDb though I can't help noticing that most major reviewers haven't bothered writing about it. And they're right not to. This is derivative rubbish with underwritten characters, and plotting that doesn't pass muster even if it tries to get by as a black comedy. Tim Roth's character has to be the least interesting assassin on celluloid (or whatever they're using these days): "I haven't killed a woman since 1983." How endearing. Jack O'Connell's character is a moron with sadistic impulses: "Was 'cos I fancied her, that's why I couldn't do it." Presumably, he can only kill women he doesn't fancy. Another charmer. Peter Mullen gets to act nasty with a Scottish accent and use the c-word a lot. Stephanie Beacham lookalike Kierston Wareing is wasted as Mullen's wife. There are no interesting villains, and the only person to root for is on screen for the least amount of time. Each scene is at least twice as long as it needs to be, and the visuals don't make up for the lack of dialogue. I'd rather be eighty-sixed than sit through these 86 minutes again.
CharlieHound
Totally unbelievable... but humorous! I still can't decide if it's supposed to be a comedy, a thriller or a gangster movie, or all of the above... Or whether it was just a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun for the writer.The movie contains a complete mishmash of actors. It's like Laurel and Hardy meets Reservoir Dogs and everything about it is just so wrong but somehow it works! I think Tim Roth is the reason this movie worked so well. The guy is an excellent actor. Jack O'Connell played a fairly good part, too, and even though the movie was quite predictable, it was well worth the watch.Definitely worth 7/10
gth-buildmain
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, i was under no illusion that it would be a typical high budget unrealistic disaster and that is why i watched it! i enjoy watching home grown talent in familiar scenery that is well acted, with good plots, good screen plays that suit the actor and do the movie justice. So i personally would disregard the previous comment and give it a watch because i do not know what film he or she were viewing, and it is definatelly not film noir. Tim roth its nice to see you back on form, jack o'connell i thought you did a sterling job, but remember one thing please and that is do not become a danny dyer and become chained to one director because you have a bright future.
AD
