Vendetta

I felt compelled to write my first review because this film deserves a little more praise! Iv always liked Danny Dyer, yeah he's made some poor movies to say the least but he's also done a couple of gems. This movie is pretty good considering Danny's most recent attempts and because I was expecting less I was presently surprised when I got more ! Its a decent British movie and I do think Danny Dyer has more to offer in future role like this one.....if you don't like British movies then you are never going to like this, but if you do its better than average. The poor ratings I feel are harsh and the film deserves about a 6.5! reminded me of "Dead man's shoes".

VENDETTA is a British vigilante movie in which an ordinary guy is pushed to the edge by the brutal murder of his parents. The film stars an older, wiser Danny Dyer as the chief character, a man who spares no expense in the way he tracks down and dispatches those responsible for the terrible crime.

At the outset, I was pleasantly surprised by VENDETTA. It bears some strong cinematography and good production values for a low budget British genre movie; director Stephen Reynolds is particularly to be commended for making this look like it stands up against the best Hollywood has to offer. And the first half hour tells an intense, dramatic story via decent editing and well thought-out scenes.

It's a pity, then, that the film can't sustain this calibre of writing, because it starts to go downhill soon afterwards. The issue is the plot, which doesn't really go anywhere as the narrative progresses. It becomes repetitive and vague, with too much time given to inconsequential characters and their actions, like Dyer's military superior and the efforts of some shady government types to track him down. All of this stuff is unnecessary and detracts from the story.

Still, the producers deserve credit for eliciting a decent performance from Dyer, and some of the supporting roles are nicely filled. Roxanne McKee continues with the potential she showed in A GAME OF THRONES, and it's always fun to see Bruce Payne even though he only appears in a cameo here. Watch out for KNIGHTMARE star Hugo Myatt in a bit part, and Vincent Regan as a military type. The violence is strong and the story gutsy, lifting this head and shoulders above the comparable likes of Nick Love's OUTLAW.

When I checked this film it only had a 5.6 rating. My ONLY reason for writing this review is to RIGHT that WRONG.

There is NOTHING so wrong with this film as to rate it so low. 5.6, to me, means 'boring, predictable, cookie-cutter, Hollywood action films with no 'substance' to them....And even some of those can rate a 6 or so just for pure action fun-entertainment value...But THIS film is MUCH better than those dime-a-dozen action/revenge films and "Vendetta" is so well executed. If I HAD to criticize anything it would only be that I don't think the way Alistair Petrie's character, 'Spencer Holland', was written was realistic. It's just my humble opinion that any ranking detective that is next in line for super, would NOT be as dumb as 'Spencer Holland' is written to be. If you like this genre, I don't think you will be disappointed and I'm sure you'd rate it higher than 5.6! ;)

CAVEAT: Most of the negative reviews of this movie seem to be comparing it to 'GREAT FILMS'...or classics... When I review or recommend a film, I review/recommend it based on the genre and what the movie is INTENDED to be. E.g.You don't compare a Steven Seagal film to a Ridley Scott movie! So what I'm, saying (badly, I admit), is that, for what it's MEANT to BE, "Vendetta" is a solid 7-8. (It's not MEANT to be a classic guys!)

I went into this movie, not expecting anything too crappy, but nothing too brilliant either. I was pretty much bang on the money.

So a guy seeks revenge on the guys who killed his parents. He bumps off the offenders one by one, yet the police have a hard time trying to figure out who is doing all the killing. The writer tries to make the protagonist into a hero but, in my opinion, fails.

Vendetta is just another standard revenge movie, with predictable scripting and a character that you try and empathise with. However, I felt that I could not relate to the character (there was just no dimension in any of the acting) and just enjoyed the action.

If you want to watch a run-of-the-mill action movie, then Vendetta is worth a look. Just be prepared to look beyond some scripting holes.

Bless Danny Dyer – he tries his best. After a string of box office flops which make his good films like 'The Football Factory' and 'The Business' seem like they were set in some weird, parallel reality, he's going for a tried and tested formula – namely the 'revenge' film.

Danny's his usual cockney self. Only this time he's an ex marine returning home from jail (I did briefly recall why he was locked up, but it doesn't really matter) to find a gang of local hooligans have only gone and roasted his mum and dad alive. And, to make matters worse, the police seem powerless to arrest anyone. Therefore, Danny must take matters into his own hands (or 'ands as he would call them) and deliver his own unique brand of justice.

Unfortunately, watching unlikeable characters getting brutally murdered may be mildly entertaining (as we've all see some little thugs defacing a bus stop and wished extreme punishment upon them), but it's hardly unique any more. Ever since Charles Bronson took the law into his own hands there have been countless imitations. Some work okay, others don't. But they all have the same message – namely about how the law doesn't always work and sometimes you have to root for the 'antihero' to get the job done himself. Recently, Michael Caine released 'Harry Brown' and Jodie Foster did 'The Brave One' a few years before that. Both were equally unoriginal, but at least they had more of a budget than Vendetta.

It's an okay enough film, but it just doesn't really have anything new contained within. Danny Dyer does his best (as he normally does) to portray a tortured soul, living on the outskirts of society, but, unfortunately, he doesn't quite pull it off. There's a sub-plot about the various police officers assigned to the case (and the area in general), but many of them come across as too uncaring and inept to be believable.

If you're a die-hard Dyer fan, you'll probably enjoy this more. However, if you're just a casual fan of revenge movies, you'll have probably seen better than this. It may not be Dyer's finest work, or up to The Football Factory or The Business, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

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