michael murphy I gave this film a chance having read the 10 + positive reviews herein. However, I feel I wasted my time watching it. It reminded me of St Trinian's - the film about the 'mischievous school girls causing havoc''. Nil character building depth - I would go as far as to say that the building of the characters is nestled within the costuming, and the viewer is expected to believe that the characters are urban clever hipsters, with a hoodlum leader who happens to be a criminal mastermind. A rather dizzy & twirling background soundtrack seems to turn itself on every now & then, adding unnecessary noisy to the scripting. It was difficult to take the characters seriously and the plot was ridiculous. A film for teenagers huddled up for a sleep over with crunch sounding popcorn.

jimbo-53-186511 This film had been sat in my Netflix queue for ages and I kept putting off watching it and almost didn't watch it. I'm not really sure why, but I just had a feeling that the 4 leads would be unlikeable one dimensional chavs - I'll admit that I was being a bit presumptuous. All I can say is that I'm so glad that I was wrong.I'll admit that the first 15-20 minutes of the film did play out as I thought; the characters were annoying at first, the dialogue was a bit shaky, but once the plot kicks in the film seems to find a new gear and I found that the more I watched it, the more enjoyment I got from it.One thing I did like about this film is the depth and complexities of its characters - we have Dodd (Matthew Lewis) who seems very much grounded and fears change (not wanting to venture outside of his own town, never mind leave the country). We have Charlie (Gerard Kearns) who is an out of work welder with an alcoholic mother who I felt was more a victim of circumstance than anything else. Then we have the mastermind behind the 'revenge' plot Harvey (Treadaway) who finds himself in a difficult place when he has to try to balance his desire to get his vengeance against Roper (Neil Maskell) and his need to try and appease his old flame Nicola (Vanessa Kirby). Each character had their own identity and all the characters felt real and believable -they'll argue, they'll laugh and they ultimately show that can also work well as a team. I really felt when watching this that the 4 leads had been friends for a long time and you could also tell that they all really cared for each other (this in spite of some of the petty squabbles that they all had throughout the film).One other thing I thought about this film was how clever it was; the film starts out as a standard tale of revenge, but part of the group's revenge is to carry out a heist - I won't say anymore than that, but let's just say that this made the film both exciting and fun to watch. This is where the film really comes into its own as there are various twists and turns throughout the film that will keep you guessing right up till the end. As well as strong characterisation and a good script, The Rise also benefits from strong and believable performances. For me, Maskell gave the best performance as psychotic drug pusher Steven Roper. Maskell has a naturally menacing look and coupled with his solid acting this made him a particularly effective villain. All the other performances were fine, but Maskell was the one that stood out for me.The Rise is a really good film and I wish that I hadn't left it in my Netflix queue for so long. The characters are believable, the acting was good, the script was excellent and very clever. If you're a fan of revenge films or heist films then you'll like this film. If revenge and heist films are your 2 favourite genres, then you may just have found your perfect film.

farhan-shaikh-968-579797 Having watched a number of British crime/gangster/hiest films has led me to a simple conclusion...we just don't do them so well (with the exception of a notable few). Flimsy story lines, flimsier plots and character development to name just a few of my gripes. Very few stand up against what the rest of the world has to offer.I went into this film with very little expectation, and up until the last 30 mins it seemed I was to be proved right yet again....not so!A great watch in the end. Yes, the storyline doesn't tread any new ground. But what it does, it does very well I think. It seems to plod along quite nicely with some decent enough character development and acting (but to be honest nothing spectacular). But the plot and the twists towards the end are well worth the wait. And kudos to the director/writer to leave in a 'did he/didn't he' scenario, where it is left to the viewers imagination as to what happens next. Far too few film makers do this in my opinion, preferring to spoon-feed the audience every bit of detail.I was also impressed with the soundtrack. Very contemporary (with the odd golden oldie thrown in), and which was actually quite emotional at times.I must admit I have been rather generous in rating this a 7/10. But that is because I am just so pleased that something of this quality has been produced in Britain.Would definitely recommend this.

shimself Certainly reminiscent of Lock Stock, with the neat dialogue, polished even, well acted and directed. I was happy with all the performances, and it is largely a young cast. It's not lighthearted, with some excursions into working class (ie unemployed class) despair and poverty, thus Wasteland I suppose, and it might be this that led to the hiccups in its release, not quite knowing where to pitch it. If that's the reason, well that's just another illustration of the institutional uselessness of the management in the film business (nobody knows nothing), because the movie is self evidently a pearl. Never quite seen anything like it before is a recommendation, not a problem. Some pretty graphic violence (realistic, not overblown, and it injures the victims), lots of swearing. Finally it's a caper, The Sting comes to mind.