Twist

Greetings again from the darkness. This is billed as "a modern take on the classic tale of Oliver Twist". The problem with that is this feels neither modern, nor in line with the renowned Charles Dickins novel. Mostly it feels like a failed attempt at copying Guy Ritchie's SNATCH, or the KINGSMAN movies, or even the NOW YOU SEE ME movies. Directed by Martin Owen with a script by John Wrathall, Sally Collett and six other credited contributing writers (in addition to the inspiration from Dickens), this film simply lacks the entertainment value necessary for any type of positive recommendation. So I won't be writing much here, only addressing what we see on screen.

Raff Law (Jude Law's son) nabbed his first starring role as Twist, a street artist living on his own. One day he stumbles into Dodge (Rita Ora), Batesy (Franz Drameh), and Red (Sophie Simnett) who introduce him to Fagin (two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine), who presides over this group of criminal misfits. The offer of free clothes, decent housing, a team to work with, and a possible romance, is enough to entice Twist out of his rooftop tent.

This is really a simple art heist movie with multiple scenes of parkour included in place of real danger or creative thrills. David Walliams plays the target, and as a bonus, ripping him off would settle an old score for Fagin, and the over-the-top psychopath Sikes (Lena Headey). Somehow out of step in a movie with no real step is a recurring gag featuring a traffic cop played by Leigh Warden. It's unclear if this was held over from an early slapstick version of the film, or if it was intended to portray Twist as an outlaw.

Noel Clark maintains his dignity as Detective Brownlow, and Ms. Headey attempts to liven things up, but mostly the characters are forgettable due to an all too simple story and a lack of development. The annoying music doesn't help, and neither does the lack of any insightful social commentary (a Dickens specialty). It seems obvious the filmmakers were trying to create something edgy and modern, and go so far as to open with a jab at Carol Reed's 1968 musical OLIVER!, by having narrator Twist state there will be "No singing. No dancing. And no happy ending." If a filmmaker risks re-making or re-imagining a classic story, they must be ready for the comparisons. This one falls well short of that 1968 version, as well as David Lean's 1948 OLIVER TWIST, with Alec Guinness as Fagin.

In theaters and On Demand starting July 30, 2021.

I will start out by saying that I completely agree, this film clearly struggles with finding an audience and is clearly confused with who it's meant to appeal to. The violence it's "watered down/cartoonish" enough for a PG rating but with all the swearing (frequent uses of the four letter words including an F bomb) it wouldn't get a PG rating in the US. Another thing I found strange was the soundtrack which kept jumping between modern day hip hop and 90s-00s britpop, which further raised the question...Who is this film meant to appeal to?

I would in no way call this movie terrible as many of the reviews suggest. It's your standard paint by numbers art caper set to the story of Oliver Twist with a ridiculous amount of parkour added in. Parts of the movie are fun but nothing is really original, it feels like the type of movie you could watch on TV and not feel like you wasted your time. That's the level of entertainment I received from it at least...

Liked the idea of Oliver Twist being set in modern times, but this is poorly executed. The makers have tried way too hard to be gritty and street, so much so that it's like a parody of gangsta films. I mean, David Walliams makes an appearance for goodness sake. Throwing in a soundtrack featuring 90's Brit bands doesn't make it edgy either. Weak storyline, poor acting and unconvincing 'criminals' With the likes of Headey and Caine in it, it really should have been better.

Don't know who the target audience was but this felt very 'teenager' orientated. Has some big names but some mediocre acting. It was just neither something original, nor clever, using ideas that have been down before. Just kind of bland, really. Loved Headey in GOT but not at all in this. Hope she doesn't end up doing crap like this. Just didn't really care for it. Was mostly bored. Had higher expectations.

Updating the classics has always been a double edged sword. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In this adaptation Dicken's novel is transported to modern London with street smart kids working for an irrascible Fagin played by Michael Caine. Large chunks are missed out of the original and characters are adjusted. Sykes is a woman and Nancy is the same age as Oliver. Taken as a stand alone this movie is not a bad effort. Some of the running over London's rooftops is good fun. Where the movie suffers is in continuity. Where are we in Dickens script.....or otherwise. But the only real problem is the portrayal of Sykes. Playing him as a Lesbian woman is quite a good idea but she is just not nasty enough. Mean in spirit, action and words but really just another thug with a gun. Sykes in the book or portrayed by Reed was a vicious bully but also a very complicated charactacter. This new Sykes tries to be nasty but comes across as flat and one dimentional. I enjoyed the movie, especially the portrayal of a modern street gang, but all seriously lacking the guts of the original.