All Things to All Men

It is obvious what George Isaac was trying with this. A story involving crooked cops and a London gangster, a mysterious thief with a heart of gold caught in their game, and (a try at) a twist. A mix between the old film noir and more modern UK gangster/heist films; just from the film's start it seemed quite good and promising.

Yet, it does not work. The script is very weak and unoriginal, without a single great moment; a mere 'copy and paste' of film noir's more usual situations/clichés and character stereotypes (like the crooked cop that is just 'following the system' or the mysterious, often quiet and sometimes cynical main character). The plot gets overly muddled by the middle of the film to the point that the viewer can easily get confused; by the ending, things get resolved in such a ridiculously predictable way that the film becomes overly simplistic in hindsight.

It does not help that the film feels silly. There is not a credible tension like in most heist/gangster films, which is further enhanced by the extreme predictability of it all. There is also no memorable moments at all, nothing that could make this film worthy remembering (for the good or for the bad).

The cast is interesting. Gabriel Byrne and Rufus Sewell stand out and make the most out of their characters; Toby Stephens does feel like a noir protagonist, though the emotionless-ness of his character is overdone; and Terence Maynard and Leo Gregory also do a nice work despite their overly flawed characters.

Overall, while not necessarily a bad movie, 'All Things to All Men'/'The Deadly Game' ends up as a forgettable, overly predictable and silly mess that does not work despite its fine cast.

I have to disagree with Nick Stones review. Either he wasn't watching it at all or his interpretation was somewhat misguided.

I found this to be a good movie typical of the type of English crime drama i have come to expect over the years.

I thought the plot was well thought out and the twists and turns quite fascinating.

Yes one does have to keep focused on whats going on but that is the whole idea.

It kept me glued to the screen wondering who was going to do what next.

The ending for me was an ending i believe was appropriate. 3/4 of the way through i had a feeling it would end that way.

I was left feeling this was not a waste of my time and, unlike Nick Stone, i would recommend it.

I cannot recommend this movie. I am a fan of all the lead actors. All play their parts well but in this case, the sum is far less than the parts! It is a very complicated movie and I soon lost my way. If there was a clever plot to keep me entertained then I'm afraid it went over my head. My main criticism is that I was always aware that I was watching a movie. Not once was I drawn into and absorbed by the action. The dialogue was unoriginal and to some extent the overall outcome was quite predictable. Oh, and I hate it when a man suffers severe gunshot wounds but moves around apparently uninjured a few scenes later; the rest of us mere mortals spend a week or two semi-conscious in hospital! Nothing new in this movie; don't waste your money.

When I came across the DVD for this movie at my local library, I hadn't even heard of it before. Without looking it up at the IMDb, I decided to give it a chance since it promised to be a crime movie filled with twists and turns. Even before getting to the end of the movie, I was regretting that I hadn't looked up the movie at the IMDb before deciding to watch it. I agree with most of the previous posters here that the movie simply isn't very good. It's filled with little action and suspense, and is instead padded with endless talk - and not very engaging talk. The main problem with the movie is that it is VERY confusing - even though I read the plot description off the back of the DVD case before watching the movie, it didn't take me long to get utterly mystified as to who was who and what was exactly going on. I guess the acting is competent, and the British backdrop does give the movie a different look and feel from Hollywood product. And the movie's production values are okay for what had to have been a small budget. But those things don't save the movie from being an utterly confusing bore.

I also disagree with Nick Stones review.

Slow to start - definitely not. I was glued to the screen from the moment the film began.

This was a slick British crime drama that I've come to expect from the Brits. No one writes mystery and crime drama like they do.

And you could not have asked for better actors to play their respective roles; from Rufus Sewell, Gabriel Byrne, to Toby Stephens they all provided excellent performances.

The one thing I love about British crime drama is that many writers fail purposely or not to explain everything, they leave the audience to figure out various parts of the plot line, which I personally like and approve. And this movie had a lot of plot twists and unexpected results that will have your jaw dropping.

I recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates British crime drama.