Oliver Carter

Before I go any further I should add that I regard the revenge/vigilante film as one of my favourite sub-genres. I am not sure why, though I am told that it could be because I am a Libra and have a strong sense of justice. Personally, I believe that Astrology is nothing more than hocus crap but what the heck, it is a good justification! I have lost count how many times I have watched the Death Wish film series, The Exterminator, Righting Wrongs, Vigilante, the Dirty Harry films, Street Law etc. So when I found out that a contemporary British revenge film was being released I naturally got quite excited and perhaps built this one up a little too much.

The premise is excellent. A group of British men are becoming disillusioned with society, particularly the rise in yob culture and violent crime. A soldier, Sean Bean, returns from duty in Iraq to find that his wife has a new man and a group of teenagers are disrespectful towards him. He meets a security guard, played by the excellent yet unsettling Sean Harris, who is obviously an avid reader of The Sun and wants to do something about his country. Naturally Sean Bean has an arsenal of weaponry he has been allowed to bring home from Iraq. They recruit a team of wronged people to turn the tables on societies evil doers, ably assisted by police insider Bob Hoskins. With a plot like this how could it fail? Well it does, and badly. After the first thirty minutes I thought this was going to be a perfect revenge film but nothing happens. The characters spend more time talking about what they are going to do rather than actually doing it.

What could have been an interesting and poignant comment on yob culture in Britain suddenly becomes yet another cockney Gangster film. It also slips into Sun reader territory a number of times, I cringed when Bob Hoskins asks Sean Bean to make sure he"kills the nonces". Another major weakness is Danny Dyer. I had never seen him in a film before and I am not sure whether I would like to see him in another. How does this guy consistently get work? His blank expression becomes tiresome after one minute. The ending is abrupt and improbable, almost as if Love did not know how to end it.

This really could have been, in my opinion, something special. It promises so much yet fails to deliver and, with the exception of Dyer, wastes a very strong cast. After all, who would not want to see an angry Sean Bean going round punishing yobs and general evil doers. Perhaps I expected something far simpler. Shane Meadows has nothing to worry about, Nick Love does not even come close. As for the revenge/vigilante sub-genre, let's hope that Death Sentence (2007) lives up to my expectations.

Romeo and his friend Knocks befriend a strange local man, played by the always wonderful Paddy Considine, who turns out be stranger than they originally thought. This is a very funny film but it also has some very dark, unsettling undertones. Considine is equally amusing and terrifying in his role as Morrell. I promise that you will never forget his love poem that he offers Romeo's sister:

"One beat, two beat three beat, sugar beat. Four beat, five beat, six beat, wheat-a-beat. Seven beat, eight beat, nine beat, heartbeat. My heartbeat, my heart is beating for you."

Somehow funny and creepy at the same time. Bob "It's good to talk" Hoskins appears in an unusually understated role that will surprise many. I really cannot believe that this film was not more successful which is probably a good thing as Dead Man's Shoes, Meadows finest film to date, would not have been made. The DVD can be purchased from HMV for a measly £4.99 delivered. Even though it has a non-anamorphic transfer is still has nice picture quality and some good extras including a Shane Meadows commentary.

A female CCTV operator notices a man from her past who she thought was in prison. She decides to seek him out and follow him before finally confronting the mysterious man. The mystery slowly unravels leaving the viewer to piece together information and form their own opinions of what happened between the two characters. The ending comes as quite a surprise and will certainly leave you thinking well after the film has finished. It is also very stylishly filmed with lots of hidden clues that can assist the viewer in piecing together the mystery. It demands a second viewing. Yet another example from the impressive new wave of British urban thrillers.