The Corrupted - Ein blutiges Erbe

'The Corrupted (2019)' was slipped into cinemas on the sly, released without so much as an advert, let alone any real fanfare. It's difficult to see why, really, considering that it isn't exactly the sort of thing that jumps out and grabs you - not from its title, its premise nor its poster. What I mean is that it's not like there was any real chance of it being a smash-hit if no-one even knew it was coming out. The other answer, of course, is that the studio was embarrassed of it and wanted to get it out as quietly as possible. That doesn't quite ring true, however, as there's nothing embarrassing - at all, really - about the flick. Sure, it seems like the sort of thing you'd walk in on your dad watching on Channel 4 but it's by no means a bad film. It's shot nicely, has a great cast and, when it gets going, is rather entertaining. The story, essentially, centres around a recently released convict as he attempts to reintegrate with society and reunite with the family he left behind. In practice, though, it actually spends an equal amount of time on its varying bit-players and their attempts to expose, or perpetuate, the corruption surrounding property development escalated by 2012's Olympic games. It probably has one too many focal characters and, especially in the first act, it doesn't seem to know who to settle on, often bouncing from person to person in frenetic and frustrating fashion. This issue even ricochets into individual scenes, as some early ensembles are jarringly cut seemingly so the characters get equal screen-time regardless of if they (eventually) have equal narrative value. There are also some odd focus pulls that aren't quite pulled off properly and breaks in the '180 rule' which make certain sequences seem a little amateur - as does the far too frequent audio clipping that sees the end of sentences end abruptly after an optical cut. It's a good thing, then, that the cinematography is usually spot-on, from the nicely-framed composition to the contrast-heavy lighting, and actually elevates the overall visual 'feel' of the flick. The same can be said for the acting, which is good across the board and is well above 'soap opera'-level, even when the central players get into overly-serious shouting matches. Tim Spall, especially, entertainingly chews the scenery every time he's on-screen, in contrast to Hugh Bonneville's usually more subtle - yet still menacing - demeanour. As I mentioned, it gets quite enjoyable when everything settles into place. The action is quite shaky and isn't really all that satisfying but the piece isn't focused on it so much as its consequences, which are suitably brutal and fit right in with its generally grim tone. Everyone's betraying everyone else and no-one can be trusted; it's not surprising, necessarily, but it is bleak and I think that's what the film-makers were going for. Generally, once the set-up is out of the way and the pace kicks in, it just keeps getting better. This happens later than you might expect, though. The ending is a little rushed and, perhaps, misses a step or two in terms of its internal logic but the actual climax is rather compelling, even if the whole thing is ever-so-slightly downbeat. The movie is never fantastic - in fact, it's usually just alright. However, it's fun enough, for what it is, when it finally gets going that I reckon it's worth a watch, especially if you're into the genre. 6/10

Noel Clark was good in this, so was Sam Claflin. Tim Spall did a decent job too. This movie is quite entertaining in the end but has a fair few flaws.

It is very slow at the start, and spends ages focusing on side characters. The wife (girlfriend?) in particular gets about 25 mins of screen time at the start but all you get from it is that the ex con has a family he cares about. That could have been done in five mins. On the flip side a key scene in a car where you see important corruption and power play moves gets 30 seconds of screen time. Just a lack of focus there.

On top of that the characters are inconsistent, for instance the villain is basically playing the existing system and using it to his advantage. Then there is a scene where he talks about being in favor of brexit. Why? He is clearly benefiting from the system in place why would he want to undermine that? Makes no sense.

If the script had been tightened up and the characters made a bit more consistent it could have been good but as it is its just kind of okay.

It started off ok but just withered off. One to watch on the telly when it's chucking it down

'The Corrupted' sort of came out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. I'd never even heard of it until it arrived on the cinema listings and it seems as though I'm only one of few who has seen, or is even aware of, it. I'd like to be able to say that this is an absolute hidden gem and it's a shame that so many people missed it but, unfortunately, I can't. It's by no means bad, but it's just nothing new or outstanding. The performances are generally great, especially Timothy Spall's, and it's engaging enough throughout, but the story is quite generic and it's instantly forgettable. While it's on though, it offers enough of the generic pleasures associated with the crime genre to please crime fans and there's some decent turns in the narrative that keep you invested, even though they aren't all that surprising. However, there are several rookie mistakes in the filmmaking here - from badly executed focus pulls to breaking the 180 degree rule - that make the whole thing feel a bit amateur. Sure, it will have obviously had a low budget, but that's no excuse for problems like this. Apart from that though, it's well made, with good shot composition and cinematography. It's bizarre, then, that the production company made no real attempt to try and get people to see it. It had a theatrical release, after all, so it must have had some money behind it. It's far from great, but it should have had the chance to find its audience. Either way, it's worth checking out. 6/10

...if it wasn't for the convoluted plot-hole ridden screenplay, especially in the beginning. Even the score was overbearing and annoying in the beginning, but I guess 1 of the 21 executive producers stepped up with changes and the story became clearer and the score less annoying. Had the screenplay been edited better, and the slow-paced 103 min run-time cut down to about 85-90 mins, it would've been more enjoyable. The directing and cinematography was decent, but the cast is what held this film together. If this is based on a true story, then I'm guessing such corruption is still present in London. Maybe that'll be a sequel. It's a generous 6/10 from me, mainly for the acting and last 3rd of the film that picked up the pace and intensity.