Dead Man Running

All in all a decent film, being a woman i love any Danny dyer and he was the films main pull for me and the girls to go watch a typical guys film,A bit lack lustre at times but Danny kept me trans fixed, plenty of action one for the guys and the girls. I noticed a mixed reception from fellow cinema goers, and maybe a tad cheesy in parts but compared with other movies at the moment it was not that bad, British film too so it's a bonus.But would recommend full on action , not a bad story and a good cast, a bit unsure about 50 cent though maybe he should have stayed in the music industry, Other characters put in a good performance and Danny and Tamear teamed up again always seems to work and do the business.

I wasn't expecting great things from this movie and I wasn't disappointed. The plot is very two-dimensional but done reasonably well, the film is well-paced and directed competently with a fair bit going on in its 90-ish minute runtime. It's never going to trouble the Academy but it pretty much does what it says on the tin as a run-of-the-mill UK gangster flick.

The performances leave a little bit to be desired, however. Danny Dyer, who now seems hopelessly typecast, really phones in his performance and it would be nice to see him given a role which might stretch him. If he keeps taking roles like this one, though, it ain't going to happen. Here Dyer is reunited with his co-star from 'The Business' (ten times the film that 'Dead Man Running' is, by the way) Tamer Hassan. Hassan, again, means well but again he's given very little to work with. It's a shame as both he and Dyer have, I feel, more to offer than this formulaic 'good-guys-gone-a-little-bad' buddy-buddy nonsense.

The chief baddie is 'played' by Curtis 'fifty pence' Jackson and it's not good, people. I'm not a fan of his music but he undeniably has talent, just not on the boards. His performance is borderline embarrassing but thankfully he doesn't take up much screen time.

Not a great movie, not a disaster either. Just average.

I did chuckle when I saw the name of footballer Rio Ferdinand in the credits as an 'executive producer' and the Jar-Jar Binks lookalike even gets a dedicated (and very clunky) line in the script. Rio's got his insipid 'Number 5' online magazine going on and now fancies himself as a mover and shaker in the film world but someone really ought to take the big man to one side and quietly explain to him that he is not in any way 'cool', nor will he ever be. Stick to football, Rio, you're quite good at that (recent performances aside).

Certain people like to stand outside McDonalds rather than go to school that's how!

Again these two appear in a derivative quick to forget bargain bin British gangster movie with all the cock-er-ney geezer charm of Guy Ritchies Bowel movements, hell they even throw in the lesser supporting cast of Snatch, a far far superior movie. Gangster Rapper 50p must have had a spare 10 minutes while in London during a promo tour because he's a barely written cameo (who could have livened the film up in a beefier role) and the two strongest actors in the movie, Brenda Blethyn and Phil Davis just seem lost in their own embarrassment wondering what there agents where playing at.

The involvement of English Premiership footballers as executive producers would suggest the film was a plaything and an outlet for their rather substantial weekly wage and it's their money that probably paid for the clearance of an actually rather good soundtrack.

Leave this movie well alone unless you like tucking socks into trackie bottoms, listen to music on buses using a mobile and have many friends with Asbo's and trophy dogs, for the rest of us there's a bit of damp paint on the wall over there, it'll be dry soon.

3/10 for the soundtrack alone

The plot: Given 24 hours to pay off his massive debt, a reformed gangster descends back into the underworld he struggled to escape.

Dead Man Running isn't a bad film, but it's strictly by-the-numbers. It lacks the brutal realism of something like Refn's Pusher trilogy or Hodges' Get Carter, operating in a universe more like Guy Ritchie's, where the underworld is populated by idiosyncratic acquaintances, crime bosses with dangerous reputations, and oddball sidekicks. The biggest difference, however, is that this seems like something of a breezy overview of the genre, where each character is given a brief cameo, rather than any kind of reinterpretation. Nobody really has much to work with, but it does give the film a certain simplicity that many people found lacking in Get Carter and Revolver, which are often accused of having overly intricate plotting.

It's not an original movie, but it's enjoyable enough for what it is. If all you want is a simple, mildly violent crime thriller, then this will fit the bill nicely. If you're looking for something a bit deeper or original, I think you'd be better off skipping it. You'll just be bored or annoyed by all the clichés.

Lighter in tone than most British gangster type thrillers, there are some real giggles to be had in this.

Helps that the acting is a cut above too, and there seems to be real chemistry between the two leads Tamar Hussain and Danny Dyer.

There's a couple of plot holes, but nothing major.

It's also stylishly filmed and directed, and moves along at a fast pace, and gets a definite thumbs up from me.