Hyena

Michael Logan is a police detective in London. His area is drugs and this brings him into contact with European drug syndicates. Logan is happy to turn a blind eye to their dealings, for a cut, or confiscate suppliers' merchandise for their own profit. So far he and his equally-crooked police colleagues have done quite well out of this. Then a deal he was planning with a member of a Turkish drug cartel goes sour and the balance of power swings to an Albanian gang, run by two brothers, the Kabashis. Logan quickly aims to provide the Albanians with the same service he provided the Turks, but they aren't easily lead. Meanwhile, he an his colleagues are being investigated by Internal Affairs. Just to make his life more complicated, he has been seconded to a vice task force, run by a former colleague whom he does not get along with.

Gritty crime-drama that blurs the lines between good and bad, criminal and cop. Very well done in this respect, as you never know who is on whose side, who's looking out for justice and who's just it for the money. Even figuring out who are allies on the criminal side of things is difficult.

All this leads to a wonderfully complex minefield or relationships, loyalties and intentions, and in the middle of it is our main character, Logan.

Just a pity about the ending though. The movie was heading for great climax, and maybe even a 9/10, when the director wrecked it with the final scene. Without giving too much away, it was very unsatisfying...

First of all, if you do not get what this movie is truly about. Don't watch it, bothering to comment on how you don't get the point. That being said, which might be a bit upsetting for some. This film was really an enjoyable experience, in the sense that it is quite rare to watch the guts pouring out of honest film making. The acting is brilliant, tone is consistent throughout the film, which is rare enough to be mentioned. It is quite graphic, since most people experienced breaking bad, it is OK. Soundtrack by "the the" adds to the magnetic feel of the film. The action is driven, captivating, edgy. This is how more movies need to be made. I won't even compare to other, bigger budget, commercially successful gangster films. I won't explain the end since I found it quite good. Bonus if you read the anecdote section. Liked this movie a lot as you can tell by now. Thanks if you took time to read this review.

the funny is that after so many years trying so hard to sit through all the crime genre films out of the British movie industries, none of them ever could hold my focus and most of the time, i just quit after tormenting and torturing myself for about 20 to 30 boring, uninteresting of my life. except kept hearing the modern curse word "Fxxking" this, "Fxxking" that, a word used to be "Bloody" couple of years ago in every British movie, there was nothing coherent enough to be recognized as a 'good' enough movie, albeit 'decent' or even 'great' one.

this 'hyena' is no exception at all. what a bore, man. full of unlikable screen personalities, bored to death scenarios and storyline, cardboard acting, non-exit direction, what we got here is nothing but another hyped hollow, snail-crawling crap out of London. the average ratings on IMDb are around 6+_, and on rottentomatoes.com even got a higher 7+ rating average, gee, are we watching the same movie of the same title? i really don't want to write a review of this typical British tasteless wax ball, but i just couldn't help myself, man. watching this movie is like when hiking on the mountain trail, i suddenly overhear a mountain goat 'Meh...meh...' behind some rocks.

In the seamy underworld of London cops, everyone plays by their own rules. There is no one to trust. Police units are in league with criminals and competing with each other for increasing shares of the profits. Laws are not enforced so much as used for advantage over others. As vice cop Michael Logan, with a coke habit and indolent nature, attempts to carve out a larger share of the illicit income for himself, he gets trapped between a ruthless pair of Albanian brothers and his fellow officers who are trying to trap him. Those who should be protected by the law are instead neglected and placed in greater danger. The director and writer based the character of Logan on someone he knew personally. Despite shaky acting of some in the supporting cast, this is a compelling portrait of police officers who are indistinguishable from criminals. The betrayals and back stabbings are underscored by a dark soundtrack by Matt Johnson and The The. Seen at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Peter Ferdinando plays Michael, a bent cop trying to partially unbend himself. He's just made a deal with some very naughty Albanian gangsters, only to find they're being investigated by his division and he's being stitched up for a murder he didn't commit. He's up against it: His colleagues are a bunch of racist drunks; his arch-nemesis David (Stephen Graham) has just returned as his senior officer; and a clean-cut cop named Taylor (Richard Dormer) is on a mission to clean up the Met. Meanwhile, Michael takes it upon himself to rescue a trafficked woman named Ariana (Elisa Lasowski), while trying to keep his own girl Lisa (MyAnna Buring) from been chopped into little pieces. Laugh-a-minute stuff, then.

The film starts boldly with a heavily stylised raid, followed by a scene in which Michael's crew drink and snort and mouth off about "Pakis". The script is as visceral as the violence; unpretty but pretty authentic. The best of the dialogue – and the most engaging character dynamic – occurs between Michael and David, and the film could have done with more of their tense, skilfully acted showdowns, and slightly fewer scenes of people receiving terrible news by telephone. But that's not to deny the film's grip. There's a genuine sense of danger throughout, and the central theme of cops "crossing a line" is consistently observed throughout – even if Michael's shambolic descent is telegraphed from the start.

"This isn't the 80s," one character remarks, although the sophomore feature of writer-director Gerard Johnson owes more than a little to the crime movie giants of that decade. Its yawning cityscapes and blue hues are like Michael Mann on tour in London, while the street level stuff – all shadowed alleys and vice-filled backrooms – are straight from Abel Ferrara. Indeed, Bad Lieutenant comparisons are particularly noticeable. Its more recent influences include Gaspar Noe's stalking camera-work and Nicolas Winding Refn's doom-scored spasms of ultraviolence. If all that appeals then great, but don't go in expecting to see anything new or particularly refined.

Hyena is a decent gritty Brit-crime thriller, sophisticated in aesthetic if not in content. It's beautifully shot and lit, and the performances are strong – particularly Ferdinando in the lead, the underused Graham, and Kill List's Neil Maskell. Its preoccupations tap into (and exploit) modern fears of police corruption and immigration effectively. Yet all the way up to its ambiguous (read: mildly unsatisfying) ending it feels more like a set of long-established clichés updated to the twenty-teens than a bold new voice in home-grown gangster film.