Overall I think this movie is...pretty good. It's not particularly ground breaking or original but for people who enjoyed the Football Factory and the Business this film will be quite entertaining. People have complained that the free-hand camera work is poor. I disagree. For the most part, this camera technique works well and gives the film a gritty, urban feel. I do think Nick Love went a little over the top with it though. It certainly wasn't necessary to use the free-hand camera so excessively and would've been more suited to the fight/action scenes only. There are moments when the free-hand camera movement can be quite off putting. Nick Love should've used this technique sparingly I believe.
This film isn't a masterpiece or a genius piece of film making, let's get that clear. There are some problems I have with it. Firstly, having Gene (Danny Dyer's character)as being close friends with the Security Guard is nothing more than a lame attempt to tie in the characters so that eventually their paths would all cross. We have Bryant meeting the Security Guard and the Security Guard just so happens to be friends with the protagonist of the story whom we are introduced to in the very beginning of the film. That just doesn't work for me. Nick Love should've though this through more. It becomes glaringly obvious to the viewer that Gene and Bryrant's path will cross soon -- and for very, very unconvincing reasons as well.
Another thing I don't like about the character development in this film is the fact the Security Guard just takes it upon himself to go around telling people he knows someone who can "help them" with their troubles. (That someone is Bryant, the soldier who he's only recently met). But why on earth does he do this? He's barely met the bloke (Bryant) and he's off telling Cedric (the guy whose wife was attacked)that he knows someone who can help him get revenge. He does the same thing with Gene when they are talking in the security room together. Why does the Security Guard assume that Bryant will willingly help these characters? I just don't get it. The Security Guard even refers to Bryant as a "mate of his" Why does he assume he's "mates" with him? When these characters first meet they hardly exchange any dialogue together. Bryant seems to only respond to be polite to the Security Guard. He doesn't show any signs at all that he considers the security guard a "mate" at all. I don't think Nick Love thought through this development properly. And why does Bryrant's character suddenly change from being this troubled, reserved character who want to keep himself to himself to someone who's being the arbiter of justice for people he's never met? I don't understand this at all.
There are also some useless, unnecessary characters in this film as well. The guy who got attacked by three people and is left with scars on his face was a pointless character in my opinion. He could've easily been omitted from the film without it greatly affecting the story at all. Another useless character was Gene's work buddy who decides to tag along with the newly founded crew (For what reason, I have no idea). Again, this character could've been omitted without the overall story being affected (or altered).
I could write more about some of the problems I have with this film but I think I'll leave it there. If you watch this film for what it is and forget some of the problematic story developments then you'll enjoy this movie. The story itself is pretty straight forward and there's plenty of action/fighting for the viewer to enjoy. This film isn't a masterpiece...but it's not absolutely terrible either.
6/10
This film isn't a masterpiece or a genius piece of film making, let's get that clear. There are some problems I have with it. Firstly, having Gene (Danny Dyer's character)as being close friends with the Security Guard is nothing more than a lame attempt to tie in the characters so that eventually their paths would all cross. We have Bryant meeting the Security Guard and the Security Guard just so happens to be friends with the protagonist of the story whom we are introduced to in the very beginning of the film. That just doesn't work for me. Nick Love should've though this through more. It becomes glaringly obvious to the viewer that Gene and Bryrant's path will cross soon -- and for very, very unconvincing reasons as well.
Another thing I don't like about the character development in this film is the fact the Security Guard just takes it upon himself to go around telling people he knows someone who can "help them" with their troubles. (That someone is Bryant, the soldier who he's only recently met). But why on earth does he do this? He's barely met the bloke (Bryant) and he's off telling Cedric (the guy whose wife was attacked)that he knows someone who can help him get revenge. He does the same thing with Gene when they are talking in the security room together. Why does the Security Guard assume that Bryant will willingly help these characters? I just don't get it. The Security Guard even refers to Bryant as a "mate of his" Why does he assume he's "mates" with him? When these characters first meet they hardly exchange any dialogue together. Bryant seems to only respond to be polite to the Security Guard. He doesn't show any signs at all that he considers the security guard a "mate" at all. I don't think Nick Love thought through this development properly. And why does Bryrant's character suddenly change from being this troubled, reserved character who want to keep himself to himself to someone who's being the arbiter of justice for people he's never met? I don't understand this at all.
There are also some useless, unnecessary characters in this film as well. The guy who got attacked by three people and is left with scars on his face was a pointless character in my opinion. He could've easily been omitted from the film without it greatly affecting the story at all. Another useless character was Gene's work buddy who decides to tag along with the newly founded crew (For what reason, I have no idea). Again, this character could've been omitted without the overall story being affected (or altered).
I could write more about some of the problems I have with this film but I think I'll leave it there. If you watch this film for what it is and forget some of the problematic story developments then you'll enjoy this movie. The story itself is pretty straight forward and there's plenty of action/fighting for the viewer to enjoy. This film isn't a masterpiece...but it's not absolutely terrible either.
6/10