New Blood

So bland I barely managed to sit through it. A combination of the most dull cliches from every true-crime movie I've ever seen. Predictable plot goes nowhere verrrry slowly. Joe Pantogliano is excellent and barely recognizable. Unfortunately he barely appears in this movie. Carrie-Anne Moss is more feminine and interesting than she was in The Matrix, but she gets about 5 minutes of screen time and less than 10 lines. John Hurt is pretty good in basically the same role he always plays. His character was sort of interesting, for a while. Everything else about the film is breathtakingly average. Even the gunfights are absolutely basic, bare-bones and old hat. Don't waste your time, watch The Matrix or Blade again. And if you just want to see Carrie-Anne naked, go hunt for The Soft Kill, because you won't see that here (the one thing that could have given it SOME value).

Only some gunfights scenes are worth in this UK crime flick. Directing is so confused, so is the story telling, and acting totally lousy. Sometimes I got bored, sometimes not, it is very difficult to pronounce some opinion, good or bad. This is a first film, and in very fashion in the early 2000's, in the Guy Ritchie mode. It remained more or less this way during the decade, and even further. With lesser results. John Hurt presence doesn't help at all. But you can try.

Trying to follow all the plot twists made my brain hurt. A day later, I still can't figure out what really happened, with all the lies told along the way by the characters.

I *think* there are some plot holes; if things really happened the way it turns out they did, then some things don't make sense. Either that, or the plot is just too convoluted for most people to follow.

Either way, the film left me feeling a bit puzzled. While the acting was good, the film as a whole was disappointing. I voted it 4 (out of 10) for the IMDB.

This movie looks a lot like the great movie Lock stock & two smoking barrels. The brilliant script is it´s strength and it throws you from one conclusion to another several times. Also, the acting is superb. Nick Moran, just to mention one of all the stars this film features, has never been better. Those of you who liked "Lock Stock..." must run and see this as soon as it hits the screens! (I had the opportunity to see it in the International filmfestival of Stockholm)

Quite how this great little movie has slipped undetected is a mystery. A great cast bring real life to a wonderfully twisty narrative that whilst inevitably drawing comparisons to Tarantino and Guy Richie by the nature of the genre, appears fresh and exciting. Don't be put off by the straight to video title, Hurst's ability as a writer is more than matched by his skill behind the camera and he never loses his grip on a story that in other hands might have become a tedious and confusing mess. This is story telling at its best.