This is very poor indeed. I read that two premiership footballers had gone fifty fifty on the budget of £2.5m pounds. None of that ends up on the screen, and perhaps there is a perverse sense of justice, for want of a better word – presumably everyone involved in this production took their lead from the two financiers, by putting themselves on massive salaries. How else can you explain where the money went ?! Over ten years ago, with Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie did this kind of film so much better, on a fraction of the budget.
Danny Dyer's declining career takes another dive her – they've cast him as the comedy sidekick, but failed to give him any material to work with. Hassan, in his first lead role, is one of the film's few bright points but he struggles to stand out. It is frustrating to see talented British actors like Brenda Blethyn and Phil Davis appear in this kind of product. American rapper 50 Cent is as bad as other reviews have pointed out. The plot is very Guy Ritchie-esquire, but fails on just about every level and tedium kicks in at the half way point. The action is poorly staged. An underground bare knuckle fight scene is edited so badly its laughable. A hulking bodybuilder with no dialogue, save for a few grunts, takes on Hassan in a hastily arranged punch up which has zero choreography. It typifies the mentality of whoever made this dross – the guy has an imposing physique and looks great when he makes his entrance, but as soon as the "fight" starts, it descends into the realms of American wrestling, and is about as convincing. Hassan does his best, but its bad.
An interview with Rio Ferdinand in the national press, in the build up to this film's UK release, revealed that he'd not actually read the script before investing his half of the budget. Its an incredible attitude to take to producing a film, but one that appears to have caught on – the only thought that appears to have gone into the bare knuckle punch up is to bring in a massive body builder.
Later, there is a "chase" when a police motorcyclist persues Hassan and Dyer, driving a stolen black cab, through woodland. For no apparent reason, either within the scene or by what we see on the screen, the copper simply steers his motorcycle into a ditch, bringing an end to the chase before anything had happened. Several people in the cinema (and there were only several people in the cinema) grumbled at this – presumably the editor did the best he could, but why stage a chase if you can't pull it off ? It looks like there's half the scene missing.
All in all this was a very poor effort. I wouldn't bet against all concerned going onto bigger and better things, and it would be interesting to see what Hassan can do with better material. Its one of those films that drags even though its not overly long, and one that you can cut a good trailer for, and create an appealing poster for, but I found it very disappointing in just about every department.
Danny Dyer's declining career takes another dive her – they've cast him as the comedy sidekick, but failed to give him any material to work with. Hassan, in his first lead role, is one of the film's few bright points but he struggles to stand out. It is frustrating to see talented British actors like Brenda Blethyn and Phil Davis appear in this kind of product. American rapper 50 Cent is as bad as other reviews have pointed out. The plot is very Guy Ritchie-esquire, but fails on just about every level and tedium kicks in at the half way point. The action is poorly staged. An underground bare knuckle fight scene is edited so badly its laughable. A hulking bodybuilder with no dialogue, save for a few grunts, takes on Hassan in a hastily arranged punch up which has zero choreography. It typifies the mentality of whoever made this dross – the guy has an imposing physique and looks great when he makes his entrance, but as soon as the "fight" starts, it descends into the realms of American wrestling, and is about as convincing. Hassan does his best, but its bad.
An interview with Rio Ferdinand in the national press, in the build up to this film's UK release, revealed that he'd not actually read the script before investing his half of the budget. Its an incredible attitude to take to producing a film, but one that appears to have caught on – the only thought that appears to have gone into the bare knuckle punch up is to bring in a massive body builder.
Later, there is a "chase" when a police motorcyclist persues Hassan and Dyer, driving a stolen black cab, through woodland. For no apparent reason, either within the scene or by what we see on the screen, the copper simply steers his motorcycle into a ditch, bringing an end to the chase before anything had happened. Several people in the cinema (and there were only several people in the cinema) grumbled at this – presumably the editor did the best he could, but why stage a chase if you can't pull it off ? It looks like there's half the scene missing.
All in all this was a very poor effort. I wouldn't bet against all concerned going onto bigger and better things, and it would be interesting to see what Hassan can do with better material. Its one of those films that drags even though its not overly long, and one that you can cut a good trailer for, and create an appealing poster for, but I found it very disappointing in just about every department.