There are people out there who will swoon over the Brit-Gang genre as if it were a member of Girls Aloud offering a snog (not the ginger one...). The problem is that, along with rubbish slasher/hacker films and naff 80s movies, that is because they have developed a cult following; i.e. a group of people fanatically worshipping everything about them, even if it is rubbish; perhaps even because it is rubbish.
The truth is that, when I watched this film, I genuinely felt like I was watching a late night episode of Hollyoaks. The acting was either over the top, or underplayed to the extent that it felt like I was watching a rehearsal. The plot itself is boring, and whilst the undertone of nihilism could be construed as an admirable quality, I actually felt that it merely enhanced my own despair, and feelings of nothingness.
If this is your thing, and you are a member of this apparent cult following of rubbish British Gangster films, by all means watch it, and love it if you must. But for those of a less biased disposition, avoid this like the plague. If you want a serious British gangster film, watch Gangster No. 1 (admittedly an average storyline, but one that is absolutely acted off the screen by Malcolm McDowell and Paul Bettany; and where the gratuitous violence is used in a far more artistic fashion) or even go retro and watch The Long Good Friday, or Get Carter (The Michael Caine version, not Rambo in disguise.)
The truth is that, when I watched this film, I genuinely felt like I was watching a late night episode of Hollyoaks. The acting was either over the top, or underplayed to the extent that it felt like I was watching a rehearsal. The plot itself is boring, and whilst the undertone of nihilism could be construed as an admirable quality, I actually felt that it merely enhanced my own despair, and feelings of nothingness.
If this is your thing, and you are a member of this apparent cult following of rubbish British Gangster films, by all means watch it, and love it if you must. But for those of a less biased disposition, avoid this like the plague. If you want a serious British gangster film, watch Gangster No. 1 (admittedly an average storyline, but one that is absolutely acted off the screen by Malcolm McDowell and Paul Bettany; and where the gratuitous violence is used in a far more artistic fashion) or even go retro and watch The Long Good Friday, or Get Carter (The Michael Caine version, not Rambo in disguise.)