Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Alastair Hilton I missed this film and caught up with it on Netflix.. What a decent film this is...Lots of twists and turns bit hard to follow but it all comes out at the end... Bit like Pulp Fiction the plot line.. Well worth watching and you would watch it again.. Its on my ship wreck list

jimbo-53-186511 This film had been sat in my Netflix queue for ages and I kept putting off watching it and almost didn't watch it. I'm not really sure why, but I just had a feeling that the 4 leads would be unlikeable one dimensional chavs - I'll admit that I was being a bit presumptuous. All I can say is that I'm so glad that I was wrong.I'll admit that the first 15-20 minutes of the film did play out as I thought; the characters were annoying at first, the dialogue was a bit shaky, but once the plot kicks in the film seems to find a new gear and I found that the more I watched it, the more enjoyment I got from it.One thing I did like about this film is the depth and complexities of its characters - we have Dodd (Matthew Lewis) who seems very much grounded and fears change (not wanting to venture outside of his own town, never mind leave the country). We have Charlie (Gerard Kearns) who is an out of work welder with an alcoholic mother who I felt was more a victim of circumstance than anything else. Then we have the mastermind behind the 'revenge' plot Harvey (Treadaway) who finds himself in a difficult place when he has to try to balance his desire to get his vengeance against Roper (Neil Maskell) and his need to try and appease his old flame Nicola (Vanessa Kirby). Each character had their own identity and all the characters felt real and believable -they'll argue, they'll laugh and they ultimately show that can also work well as a team. I really felt when watching this that the 4 leads had been friends for a long time and you could also tell that they all really cared for each other (this in spite of some of the petty squabbles that they all had throughout the film).One other thing I thought about this film was how clever it was; the film starts out as a standard tale of revenge, but part of the group's revenge is to carry out a heist - I won't say anymore than that, but let's just say that this made the film both exciting and fun to watch. This is where the film really comes into its own as there are various twists and turns throughout the film that will keep you guessing right up till the end. As well as strong characterisation and a good script, The Rise also benefits from strong and believable performances. For me, Maskell gave the best performance as psychotic drug pusher Steven Roper. Maskell has a naturally menacing look and coupled with his solid acting this made him a particularly effective villain. All the other performances were fine, but Maskell was the one that stood out for me.The Rise is a really good film and I wish that I hadn't left it in my Netflix queue for so long. The characters are believable, the acting was good, the script was excellent and very clever. If you're a fan of revenge films or heist films then you'll like this film. If revenge and heist films are your 2 favourite genres, then you may just have found your perfect film.

Rodrigo Amaro A sad case of a fine movie that could've been a great contender at the box office but didn't all that much due to studio or producers pushing back its release time and time again. First, it was called "Wasteland" (great title and as I call the film) than delayed for whatever reasons, later on submitted as "The Rise", perhaps as a way to attract more viewers. Not sure if succeed in that. It will have a decent life in the video market because everybody loves a good thriller and "Wasteland" is one of the most solid and gripping Brit thrillers of the season.The criminal drama (with fun bits of humor) has two fronts: a injured man retells to a detective (Timothy Spall) all the events that led him there in that deposition room. The man in question is Harvey (Luke Treadaway), a criminal recently released from jail after spending six months due to a set up from his boss. Harvey's plan is to gather his mates (Iwan Rheon, Matthew Lewis and Gerard Kearns), rob the local casino commanded by his former boss and move to Netherlands, where they can leave the life of crimes behind and settle down as being coffee shop owners. Not that simple since the other members of the group are more frightened of the robbery's positive outcome (to leave a lousy place they love and move to a place they don't know) than the robbery itself and the chance of facing dangerous types, people who they worked for; and Harvey also trying to get back to the girl he loves and who might not approve his plans.Simple is safe, and "Wasteland" benefits from that. It's a simple plot, apparently complicated with its flashbacks back and forth and many puzzling plot twists, but it's very simple in the core. Lacks in action but it's more involving than anything I can think of; the romance bits are tolerable; the dialogs are good but nothing so grandiose; the humor is excellent, consisting mostly of moments with the group mocking Harvey's time in prison. But we're there for a good drama we can easily relate in a way and the powerful and excellent chemistry between the gang formed by some of the finest and young UK stars, people who truly deserve credit even if you don't know their names.My theory on why this was overlooked and once again has to do with the delays and title change: by the time the movie was being made, they had a relatively unknown actor who in between early screenings and the whole change of market, suddenly got a little more famous with heavy repercussion on a play he got great reviews and several awards, and that was Luke Treadaway. The first trailer was a indicative that the focus was on the group, when in fact the focus is on Harvey. I don't think the producers were wrong in "selling" the actor, a reliable performer by the way, but they got wrong in postponing it several times and the new title doesn't sound appealing. "Wasteland" or "The Rise", in the end, it's an exciting, edgy and offers plenty of good moments. 9/10

Sausage1 OK i don't review much stuff (indeed this is probably my first film review) but i feel like this film needs a little helping hand. This film is above average for your standard Brit flick, the acting is great, the story bounces along nicely & the overall plot is clever. If you like a good honest film, with decent acting, a nice bit of revenge, a nice bit of robbery, and a nice bit of violence, get this one watched. It seems to have been off a lot of people radars but it certainly deserves a wider audience, if you liked lock stock, or the bank job etc, in fact if you like any sort of heist/revenge scenario, this is a definite for your watch list. 7* from me but i can understand people scoring it that little bit higher, it really is a good watch.