Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Caryl
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
brett holmes
this is the first movie inspired by the rattendon range rover murders.the others are (rise of the foot-soldier and bonded by blood) but this one is easily the best. tom Wilkinson is a great actor as he really flexes his acting skills in this movie and so does Sean bean the movie is great from start to finish and will keep anyone who is interested in British crime entertained. NOTE:there is a rape scene in the movie that did make me very nervous on watching the rest of the movie but I'm glad that i did because it really does have a dramatic ending witch did leave me shouting at the TV.if anyone enjoys this movie perhaps you should check out the books and other movies.rise of the foot-soldier is a bit too violent and bloody but is still good.bonded by blood is a little better that rise of the foot-soldier but not as good as Essex boys give it a go!!!
De Niro
Based on the triple rettondon murders that shocked England in the mid 1990's this retelling takes liberty with some of the facts and changes the names of the people it's based upon (something Bonded by Blood and Rise of the Footsoldier didn't) Jason Locke, a psychotic ex-convict recently released is driven around his old manor by a young cabbie called Billy Reynolds, he finds that in his absence all of his old friends and associates have got rich and successful, he sets about getting back on top with the help of his crew, Billy, and his long suffering wife.As the deranged Locke, Sean Bean rises above an underwritten character and gives a (at times) excellent performance, the script holds him back from really digging anything too deep out of his character but he handles the material well, Tom Wilkinson is used sparingly but to great effect and Alex Kingston is great as the wife whose not all she seems.Direction is straghtforward and doesn't detract, the editing is great and the crisp cinematography captures the seedy underbelly of the Essex underworld to good effect.Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, 7/10
imaginatrix-1
I did like this movie, but - except for His Beanness - none of the actors really stood out. And, I don't know if I'm just a jaded child of the you-call-THAT-shocking?!? generation, but I was expecting the whole thing to be more over-the-top. Certain scenes worth note, though: the rape scene was awful, and the scene where he died was wicked cool. Not wicked cool in the ooh-cool-dead-people way, but in the wow-not-only-is-sean-bean-a-hottie-he-also-pulls-a-great-death-scene way.Sean Bean is really great in the way that he'll play any kind of character. He's done edgy homoerotic (way before it was trendy to do so), twitchy terrorist, seriously unhinged bad guy (several times, but it never gets old), devoted husband and lover...he's really diverse. I love that man.Sigh. Scuse me while I go chain smoke. And I don't even smoke!Trish
onysia
If you want to "see" what a drug induced blank look really looks like Sean Bean's bedroom scene half way through the movie is a must see. He ain't trying to look good or mean or anything other then just be in the character. And he does that to the exclusion of the rest of the world. He's a git and he will make your skin crawl.This an an ensemble cast and they fit together wonderfully. The ways they come together and come apart are believable. You may even feel compassion for some of them until you remember what everyone is doing.At the end of viewing it I thought it was a once through but now a few days later I want to see it again and I am thinking seriously about buying th DVD.
