Wordiezett So much average

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

juneebuggy Excellent movie, made me feel very uncomfortable and even anxious. I can't imagine being afraid to walk around my own neighborhood. Michael Caine is just excellent here, with visions of Death Wish & Get Carter. Set in south London, Caine is a widower in his 70's, on medication for his emphysema and living in a dilapidated council flat on a rough estate. Drug dealers and gangsters rule his neighbourhood, the police (Emily Mortimer) are unable to make a difference. Harry meets his friend Len (David Bradley) at the pub, they play chess, Len is afraid and then Len is killed by drug dealers. Harry is tired of being afraid and with nothing left to lose, rediscovers his forgotten military past, embarking on a revenge campaign against some very bad dudes who don't realize who they've come up against. This is a gritty, violent, revenge thriller. I was kinda blown away by Michael Caine, he is just awesome.

oOoBarracuda I recently learned that I had a severe lack of films viewed in which Michael Caine had a lead role. Harry Brown was certainly a film I could watch to begin to fill that void. Harry Brown was the 2009 film directed by Daniel Barber stars Michael Caine in the titular role seeking vengeance for the murder of his best friend. Having rarely seen Michael Caine in any film previously, seeing a gun-toting Michael Caine was quite a sight to behold. A fairly standard vigilante story was made engaging and interesting due to a wonderful performance by Caine.Harry Brown (Michael Caine) is no stranger to tragedy. Living life as a widower in England, Brown sees violence everywhere, including right outside his window. Harry loses his wife, who had been terminally ill shortly after the audience is introduced to him. Brown's only friend left is Leonard Attwell (David Bradley) with whom he enjoys a daily chess game. One afternoon, Leonard confesses to Harry that he is so afraid of the increase of violent acts in the area in which they live that he has decided to carry a bayonet to defend himself. Harry insists that Leonard should go to the police, but Leonard refuses. Shortly after this exchange, Leonard is beaten and stabbed to death with his own weapon. When a couple inspectors come to deliver the news to Harry, he is grief-stricken and completely devastated to lose his only friend left in the world. Knowing that even if the criminals are found and brought to trial, it would be ruled as self-defense because the knife belonged to the victim. Given such a bleak outcome, Harry decides he has had enough of being a victim of tragedy and decides to take matters into his own hands.Technically, Harry Brown had a lot going for it. There were some fantastic cuts that were useful in developing Brown's life at home, illustrating the ways in which he has become used to the violence surrounding him. There was also a fantastic juxtaposition in which we see Harry as the only one in attendance at his best friends funeral while we see a line of cars travel obstructing the audience's view of Harry. This scene was pivotal in establishing the true isolation of Caine's Brown. Thematically, Harry Brown falters a bit. For starters, the audience witnesses too much tragedy all at once in Harry's life. We really don't need to see so many tragedies occurring to drive home the notion that Harry Brown has endured much heartache in his life. A lazy filmmaking tool is showing rather than telling, and the beginning of Harry Brown is all show and no tell. The vigilante justice theme is also one that comes off nearly unavoidably formulaic. For instance, in a vigilante tale, you'll almost always have predicted action, one cop who half-heartedly goes after the vigilant and another beholden to law and order that wants to find the vigilant despite the fact that they are eliminating the bad parts of society--each of these aspects are present in Harry Brown. Harry Brown would undoubtedly be a film that no one would ever speak of, lost to the annals of cinema had it not been for the brilliant performance of Michael Caine. You know that people like Harry exist. There are people all over the world who have one friend in their life who look forward to a daily chess game, and you know this because of how Michael Caine translates the role. I want to learn to play chess, just so I can meet Harry every day so that he has someone to talk to, and is not alone. Michael Caine"s brilliantly emotional performance keeps Harry Brown from fading into obscurity and presents a true masterclass in acting.

Ollie Contrary to other reviews I've seen here, this film is not a realistic reflection of anything at all: the story is a nonsensical right-wing fantasy with antagonists that are paper-thin. There is plenty to enjoy about Harry Brown: it's well shot, has a fantastic cast and some cracking scenes - it's just a shame that so much of its initial promise is wasted, when a strong opening devolves into a cartoonish and entirely unsubtle revenge flick.Michael Caine holds things together with a compelling performance as the titular character, that helps you to forget the contradictory nature of Harry's motivations and morality throughout.This movie is like Gran Torino without the insight or intelligence. The characters are flat and the motivation is inconsistent, but what could have been a truly dire tale is saved by many touches of quality that were unfortunately absent in the script.Enjoy the ride, but don't expect any sort of depth.

FilmBuff1994 Harry Brown is a a decent movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a good cast. The main reason I am giving this such a low rating is because I found it to be an unpleasant experience, it's very gritty and surreal, something I didn't expect from this cast, I felt in complete discomfort for the majority of the film. Michael Caine is certainly the highlight of the movie, though I found seeing this violence with him on screen unpleasant, he does potray his character very naturally and steps in to Harry Brown's shoes with pure class. The characters were certainly a huge issue, I didn't find a single one likable, the bad guys were bad guys, and the good guys were basically bad guys as well, it's very hard to follow a film when you aren't truly supporting a single character. It's certainly not terrible, but Harry Brown is a weird film experience that I wouldn't recommend. An elderly former marine exacts revenge on a group of teenagers who killed his only companion. Best Performance: Michael Caine Worst Performance: Joseph Gilgun