The Veteran

Saw this with my girl today and enjoyed it very much. It's nothing great by any means, but it's a good little film. Toby Kebbell plays a soldier back from Afghanistan, who soon finds himself in another war, this time on his home turf. The film switches between a plot involving terrorism and a plot involving violent gangs on the estate. Both are interesting to watch and both eventually collide. The plot is something we've seen hundred's of times over but that's not to say this isn't well made. Kebbell is very good in the lead role and can certainly carry a film. The supporting actors perform well enough too but nowhere near Kebbell's standards. The gun-heavy climax is gritty and well done, if you don't take it too seriously of course. Me and the missus were the only ones in the cinema, so I'm guessing this will probably die a death while it's on the big screen. Overall a violent, over-the-top but entertaining Brit flick, not to be taken seriously but not to be ignored. ***/*****

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Miller (Toby Kebbell) returns home from war to the council estate he lives in, but finds it in the grip of a crime wave, perpetrated by young boys under the influence of local villain Tyrone (Ashley 'Bashy' Thomas.) Struggling to re-adjust to civilian life, he is offered a job by an old army pal to execute a government operation, headed by Gerry (Brian Cox) to take out a terrorist cell. But as he delves deeper into his mission, he finds trust may be a virtue that could cost his life.

One of the excerpts of favourable reviews printed on the back cover of The Veteran (I'm sure it was from Empire Magazine) hails it as 'Harry Brown has some competition.' While it does deal with a man standing up to crime on a troubled estate, this manages to be as much of a sub plot as the part where he takes on the government operation, and while both parts have promise, together they throw the film off course a bit, making things a bit jumbled and incoherent. A shame, since as an action film, it is quite well made, slick and stylish enough and with a tighter, more effective script than you might expect from such an obviously low budget work. Best remembered as the eccentric musical genius from RocknRolla, in the lead role Kebbell melds well into the action hero role, while as the most high profile member of the cast Cox has as much presence as ever, delivering his all even to a more minor role.

This is an ambitious, fairly effective but sadly sort of misguided effort, that does more than you expect but can't quite cover over the cracks. ***

This film shows the aftermath of a Veteran returning home to England after serving in the middle east. The streets, the gang activity were a nuisance to this honorable young man. He was a man of "special talents" learned through combat. The local gangs, thugs brought about him unleashing his abilities on them. Tony Kebbell's very thorough movements when in a tactical situation were astounding. Having a professional background in Tactical Operations myself, I truly appreciated how he carried out his moves and handling of an AR / M-4 type weapon. Here was a man that wanted peace and tried to help others, only to be pulled back into using these methods learned. Sad but sometimes a reality. Excellent movie overall.

I actually had this film and another British 'grit' film - a Jason Statham film- 'Blitz' at the same time. I knew a little about The Veteran and and just didn't feel like watching it since I assumed it was going to be dark. It is that. However, when I actually got my finger out and started playing it- it really grabbed me by the manhood within seconds. Literally. Yes this is a heavy film, but is it something you want to watch? Yes. Is it entertaining, very- it has intrigue, drama and action. The human element of the main character is portrayed excellently by Toby Kebbell who I had seen some months earlier in the Guy Ritchie gangsta powerflick 'RocknRolla'.

I think it's useful to actually bring up Ritchie here, due to its links with Kebbell- and for that matter Statham's 'Blitz' which is a form of dark Ritchie film actually. What they all have in common is the grim underbelly of London and the disturbed inwards of British society. Unlike Ritchie's MTV approach, The Veteran has a hugh scope- a true comment on modern society, civilisation, morality... I could go on... REALLY heavy subjects which are explored with the vigour of a novel. In fact, this film would have probably been better as a novel- some of the labyrinthine plot does not take on first viewing, but I saw that as indicative of the confused state of morals, politics, loyalty and judgements that the film centres on. In this respect Kebbell's hard but traumatised soldier is a great piece of acting and a fantastic vehicle for a mixture of action/thriller entertainment and social commentary.

The conflicting opinions about the movie Blitz are typical of the state British cinema finds itself in right now. On one hand you have the type of Lock, Stock Brad Pitt 'ultraviolence' and crime-glorification popcorn for the Hollywood market. The Transporter, Crank and so on are also in the same vein you could argue- pretty soulless Statham nonsense. Blitz as a film is halfway between that and this. And what is this?

Well, it is the other hand. Something British cinema can actually be proud of, it has depth. It does not wallow in 'cool' Tarantino style violence and gore- instead it uses ultra-realistic action scenes (helped by the military/espionage storyline) to get into the heart of the British (read 'western') battlefield of crime, corruption, terrorism... and well, watch it and find out. In many ways, you might almost class this as a post-apocalyptic film, it echoes 1984 and generic Orwellian dystopia. Man up and watch it, give it just minutes and you'll be hooked.

Whether this type of film or the Ritchie style will gain control over Britain's cinematic soul remains to be seen.

Toby Kebbel is excellent as the veteran, returning to his London council estate following retiring from army duty. The decorated soldier struggles to find work and so gets involved in an anti terrorist undercover role, tailing an informant (the team being led by Brian Cox). Whilst this is going on he tries to help his friend against the neighbourhood hoodie gang, who are brainwashing his brother into the local gang culture.

Dark, gritty, slow to build up but gripping and exciting (and threatening) this Brit flick is a great watch. Miller (Kebbel) then realises all is not what it first seemed and has to find a way out and rectify a situation he is struggling to deal with. The thing that made it for me was the arguably non sell out ending, remaining in keeping with the film and rewarding the viewers patience with the story and slower first half. It is far from perfect, but with a forgiving film fan head, this film may surprise a few and entertain, and that is the point.

Definitely a top 20 film of 2011 and it's non blockbuster status will make it an even better watch for admirers of this sort of film and content, a modern underdog fighting back styled film.

This film is similar to Harry Brown, Taxi Driver and Outlaw.