vckshort
I bought this just last week, on an impulse purchase because I am just fascinated by the history of the Kray Twins, and I was not expecting much when I saw the reviews here....but... This film (and the Fall of the Kray's) is an awesome ride!! Unlike other Kray films this has no glitzy glamour to it. This is a warts and all account of two of Britain's most notorious gangsters, molded into a fascinating and compelling film, with superb acting and excellent cinematography. It is quite gory in places so it does deserve an 18 cert: But, dare I say, its "intelligently gory"? But what is a refreshing delight is that this film borrows some tricks from the best horror movies, in being, it swirls in suspense, and tension, making your mind race. And if it could get any better a lot of the scenes are shot on hand held, which gives you the impression you are in the room with them. (A frightening prospect if you were in a room with the Kray Twins!) I have studied the history of the Kray's for about 20 years, and this movie is the most accurate yet, right down to the smallest details, so well put together, I think even the Twins themselves would have been impressed! Anyway, here in the UK the DVD costs less than a single cinema ticket, and if you enjoy gangster biography or even horror (I am a massive horror fan!) you just might want to check this one out. So get some cold beers in, turn the lights off...and let the Kray Twins show you a back door into Hell!!
sqdb
I have always been interested in the Krays. I have read most of the books about them and I also enjoyed the 1990 film with the Kemp brothers, which was flawed and left a great deal of things out, but became a cult film. The Rise Of The Krays, however, makes the Kemp film look like a masterpiece in comparison. I only watched it for half an hour and I thought it was absolute rubbish. It featured violence just for the sake of it, no coherent plot, was obviously made on a shoestring and featured no actors that I had actually heard of before. To make matters even worse, the two actors playing the Krays didn't look like them at all! The comment on the cover of the DVD states that this is, apparently, "The Best British Gangster Film Ever", which is complete rubbish. This is, without doubt, the worst film I have seen for a long time and anyone who knows anything about the Krays' story would soon spot glaring mistakes. It is a blatant rip-off of the 1990 film and an obvious cash-in on the new Legend film starring Tom Hardy as the twins. He looks more like the Krays than the two jokers in this film. Honestly, just don't waste your time or money on this rubbish. If you want to know more about the Krays, then I suggest you read one of the books about them, which are infinitely more accurate and tell a fuller picture than this film. You will thank me for it, trust me. Even the 1990 film is better than this.
connormacleod84
coming from someone from hackney, i can state the krays did a lot for charity, as well as kept the streets safe. they also took a lot of people off the streets and gave them homes and jobs. so to of clamed they spent 2.5 million on this is insulting. the guys cant act. everything looks fake, and its very out of touch on how they came across and behaved. they deserved a lot better than this mockery of a film. even rise of the foot soldier looked better than this, and he was just a common chav that every town has. i give it 0 out of 10 for insulting the brothers who cleaned up hackney when no one could before or after. even my nan used to say it was the only time you could ever walk the streets at night without worryed about getting robbed.
skinhead-5
This is an absolutely poor lose "remake" of the The Krays. Poorly filmed, awful scripting and a total mish-mash of babble. Not only that it would appear that whole budget was spent on fake blood that showed up quite a bit in the film. Indeed, it seems that the whole film just contained mindless violence for the sake of violence as it cheapish to produce on film.Add to this the appalling locations and errors in sets e.g. "plastic double glazed windows" and modern cars it just make it more unbearable to watch. I seemed to of missed key points in their history due to sleep apnea! I really isn't worth the watch or the pain. At times in the film I wished they would of plucked my eyes out to save me the torture!
AD
