Savage

I really wanted to like this having seen the trailer but was a bit disappointed. I felt the casting let it down quite a bit and the story wasn't really anything new

This film has been made better before. I didn't really feel the involvement needed to make this film work for me. So in the end I didn't feel the bonds the savages felt. In the end a bit disappointed.

There have been some very good gang based movies that have come out of New Zealand over the years . Romper Stomper and Once were warriors are two that spring to mind but is Savage good enough to be mentioned in the same breath as those movies ?

Absolutely.

Inspired by the true stories of New Zealand's street gangs across 30 years, this movie follows danny at three defining moments in his life as he grows from a boy into the violent enforcer of a gang.

I really liked this film . It shows how one wrong turn ( or accident) in childhood can change an entire life and affect you and others for decades .

The performance are brilliant . Jake Ryan is superb and as far as I'm aware it's the first film I've seen him in anything . The young lad who plays Danny as a kid is great too.

It's violent but not gratuitous. You seen what is necessary to the story and no more and you have to applaud director Sam Kelly for not going over the top although it's still an 18 which is a shame as it will limit the audience.

I'd have no problem with my 15 year old watching this . In fact he may even learn a thing or two about how people can change despite the bum hand they have been given in life .

Savage has a limited cinematic release here in the UK and if you get the chance to see it , you should .

An accurate depiction of the abusive childhood which can lead to the violence of life in a gang.Convincing acting but dialogue sometimes inaudible

Savage has a genuinely powerful story to tell but goes about it all wrong. For starters it's told out of sequence with multiple timeline jumps back and forth to make a simple story seem complex. The camera work is bizarre and distracting. But worst of all is a myriad of scenes featuring loud nerve-jangling music with slow motion montages. No idea what that was meant to achieve other than prolong the runtime. Not to mention Jake Ryan's New Zealand accent was laughable. Speaking Aussie with a few eh bro's on the end is not speaking New Zealand. 4/10.