Yardie

Pretty decent directional debut of Idris Elba. It takes partly place in Jamaica and partly in London. It has quite interesting characters, even if they are at times a bit stereotype. But he tries to look beneath the dread locks and mostly successes. The lead actor Aml Ameen was very good and an excellent choice for the lead. Great performance, very sympathich and versatile. I did not like Stephen Graham who totally hammered it up. But the rest of the cast, that also involves a beautiful performance by Shantol Jackson and the kid who played the young "D" got perfectly directed by Elba. Its a crime story. A revenge story. The story itself is not new, maybe just the setting and circumstances. The film is accompanied with great music and the atmosphere was perfectly captured in general. The ending is good and satisfying (which is something rare these days...) All in all a recommendable film, but not one that will win awards.

I was lucky enough to go to a preview screening and Q&A with Idris Elba where he said to give it glowing reviews if we loved it and just mention his mum's carpet (which makes an appearance in the film) if we didn't. Unfortunately this film did not live up to all I'd hoped. The story itself is sound and would make a decent action movie plot but Idris seems to have tried to make something more gritty which falls flat for me. The broad accents slip on occasions sometimes intentionally and there is some stereotyping too. It's a story of murder, revenge, drugs and Jamaican gang warfare with a reggae soundtrack which may sell better than the movie. I'm sure having Idris Elba's name attached will help opening weekend ticket sales but I wouldn't be surprised if this is on digital download on your TV screen in a month or two.

From the get go, the way the film is shot grips you. A film with some rough edges, but a great cast of actors and a brilliant story line. Idris Elba has really made a mark in his debut of directing.

Well well, a lot of the people on here complaining that they "couldn't understand half the dialogue". Um...It's a movie called Yardie, about Jamaicans. In fact the dialogue is perfectly intelligible, so ignore these Daily Mail fools. Try watching Rockers if you want to hear real patios. (Though I suspect you may not, it'd probably send you into an apoplectic gammon rage).

Also some of these reviews are trashing the movie out of hand. I can't imagine what their problem can be with Ghanaian-descended actor and director Idris Elba. Seriously guys if you just plain don't like black people there's a name for that and you probably shouldn't watch movies about Jamaicans. Some people also complaining that the director isn't Jamaican. Presumably they're also furious that Spielberg isn't an alien, or a dinosaur.

With that out of the way, this is a visually and sonically sumptuous movie. It looks gorgeous and while the plot is fairly standard gangster fare (I haven't read the book so I judge the film purely on its own merits) it's an enjoyable and well made film, and definitely worth your time.

Ignore the obvious hater comments and make your own mind up.

My girlfriend selected it, because of Idris. I hesitated when I saw IMDb rating. So we watched it and it was REALLY good. You need to have some knowledge and appreciation for that community and that time in history, so you can immerse yourself into the story.

It's not like "the best movie of all times", it's a really engaging movie. Some commenters are complaining about cliches, and looking back I suppose there are some. But they didn't jump out at me and make me cringe while I was watching, which means that the story and the film-making were successful. Glad I got to see it. Well done, Mr. Elba!