3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not New But Still Good, December 2, 2010
Once again Nick Love hires on one of his favorite actors, Danny Dyer, to boost this old war horse of an idea. Some might say this is "Scarface" meets "Blow" and they'd be right on. Here, Dyer plays a guy who isn't bad, but is kind of lost. After beating his stepfather (for beating his mother) he's forced to head to Spain where he hooks up with a popular club owner. Said club owner takes Dyer under his wing and the two, with the help of a few others, rise in the marijuana business. As Mary Jane turns to cocaine they rise and rise and rise. But the business is too big for them and the fall comes hard.
This is set in the 80s with good attention payed to cars, fashions and music. The soundtrack here is outstanding. As I said, there is nothing new here as far as the basic outline of the story is concerned. What makes it work are the characters and performances. The Sammy character is particularly good. He's like a bomb that could go off at any time. Every time he's on screen you're worried something really ugly is going to happen. He's a scary, scary dude. Some characters are fleshed out better than others but as an ensemble they do a nice job.
The other thing going here is the script. As over used as the idea is this is still written very well. The writers take you up and down the drug trade ladder in fine fashion. I didn't feel forced through either the situations or the running time. Things moved at the right pace.
If you're at all a fan of the genre this is a good outing. All the production values are good. It moves well and has a good feel to it. The accents do get a bit thick at times and you'll probably miss some of the dialogue, but it's a worth it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Posers, June 20, 2009
Ouch, this film is so bad. It's like a bunch of guys got together and said, let's all look really cool, dress up like gangsters, talk tough, run drugs, and make a movie.
Frankie is a young innocent boy that tries to protect his mother from her abusive boyfriend; in the process he kills the boyfriend. Frankie needs to leave London, so a buddy gives him a bag to deliver to Spain - just don't look in the bag, and give it to the *Playboy.* Yikes, at that moment, the playboy was a clue this will be very bad.
Frankie arrives in Spain, delivers the bag and the story proceeds with the worlds worst jump cuts and filming. Charl (the *Playboy*) hires Frankie as his driver. Charl's partner Sammy has the hottest daughter or girl friend (never clear which one it is) in town and is warned to stay away from her. Sammy eventually shows up (let's not forget a bunch of really stupid lame set up bar dance party scenes, with them all dancing away to 80's dance music). He hates Frankie. And the drama begins!!! They run pot from Morocco to Spain. Let's just say, this stinker wanders all over the place, with little or no motivation, stupid lines, and Charl smiling his *ultra-handsome* smile.
The tag line - gangsters in sundrenched Spain - is accurate. Yep there are gangsters. Yep they are in Spain on the beaches. Is it sensual? Nope not for two seconds. Carly is gorgeous, but she ends up around nasty bookends. The movie pretty well focuses on a bunch of these older gangsters and the young Frankie.
Production values are absolutely atrocious. The opening montage, these two guys running down a street with the camera following. They use handheld, and the cameraman is trying to run himself. It's horrible. Pacing is all over the map. Sound is awful, the music is so far over boosted and the dialog is swept way low. Surround channels - none. With all the shooting and explosions, we've come to expect good subwoofer work - not in this film. All flat sound.
The DVD includes deleted scenes and an alternate ending. I chose to leave those two in rest and did not look at them.
Pass on this one. It's really not very good.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Its got a good beat & you can dance to it, March 6, 2011
What can you say. This is a rather trashy full length music video about English drug gangsters with very rough edges (even the director's commentary sounds like a bunch of low lifes). There are some amateurish moments, including a weird scene where I think one of the camera vehicles gets in the picture, but its all in fun. If you enjoyed the subtlety of Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, this is somewhat similar.
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