Despite the unjustified negativity that this film has received I found it to be very entertaining and often hilarious in parts. It was original and has been one of my favourite films this year.
It seems impossible in recent years to comment on a British crime film without mentioning Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, supposedly one of the best of 90's British films, so why brake from that tradition because I found this film to be greater in every respect. The lines were funny because of the characters, not because of sarcastic wise cracks or insults. The bad guys were bad and the good guys were good, yet in Lock Stock there was such a viciousness that I didn't know with characters to sympathize with.
This film is more like the old British crime films such as The Italian Job than Lock Stock could ever be. However, I did feel that the inclusion of so many American characters to reach that market was a bit too much, which the other films didn't feel the need to do.
To enjoy this film don't go expecting to see a gritty realistic crime film, although many scenes are gory, just watch a comedy about crime and gangsters and you'll enjoy it more. Viewed as a comedy first is how the film works, apart form Eddie Izzard and John Hannah I don't know how big any of the British cast are in America, but in the UK many of them are famous for having their own comedy series, Brian Conley in particular removed any doubt from my mind about how good the film was, because he was able to turn his comic image on its head and use a brilliant performance as a weapon on an unsuspecting audience.
Enjoy this film as it really is - THE BEST BRITISH MADE FILM THIS YEAR!
It seems impossible in recent years to comment on a British crime film without mentioning Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, supposedly one of the best of 90's British films, so why brake from that tradition because I found this film to be greater in every respect. The lines were funny because of the characters, not because of sarcastic wise cracks or insults. The bad guys were bad and the good guys were good, yet in Lock Stock there was such a viciousness that I didn't know with characters to sympathize with.
This film is more like the old British crime films such as The Italian Job than Lock Stock could ever be. However, I did feel that the inclusion of so many American characters to reach that market was a bit too much, which the other films didn't feel the need to do.
To enjoy this film don't go expecting to see a gritty realistic crime film, although many scenes are gory, just watch a comedy about crime and gangsters and you'll enjoy it more. Viewed as a comedy first is how the film works, apart form Eddie Izzard and John Hannah I don't know how big any of the British cast are in America, but in the UK many of them are famous for having their own comedy series, Brian Conley in particular removed any doubt from my mind about how good the film was, because he was able to turn his comic image on its head and use a brilliant performance as a weapon on an unsuspecting audience.
Enjoy this film as it really is - THE BEST BRITISH MADE FILM THIS YEAR!