We Still Steal the Old Way

There were some silly bits and some sugary bits, but I was happy to overlook them because overall it was a lot of fun. No doubt it helps to be of a certain age and to remember British TV of the 80s.

Sequel to the 2014 We Still Kill the Old Way, the majority of the original cast return for a superior outing.

This time the Archer gang are up for a prison escape, but can the old timers still do it using the "Old ways"?

Truth be told I had a great appreciation for the first film despite only hitting it with a 5/10. It was very well made but the realism and subject matter made me a tad uncomfortable and it damaged the film for me. This time around most of that subject matter is absent and with the same cast and fantastic writing it was logically bound to be better.

Sadly also absent is James Cosmo who played Arthur in the first film, he was a great character and he was missed. Thankfully the remaining cast are present and do a fantastic job without him as well as the new villian Billy Murray and fellow industry veteran Patrick Burgin.

A third movie has been announced but the more I look into it the more I get the impression its been cancelled or at best delayed. I'd love to see this rounded out into a trilogy because regardless of my opinions on the first film they're very well made movies.

The Good:

Well put together

Solid cast

The Bad:

Violence looks oddly tame in places

No James Cosmo

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

America is no longer the home of the free and the brave.............actually I already knew that one

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Richie (Ian Oglivy) and the gang return, this time to pull off a heist in a bank vault, with the express intention of being caught. They are sent inside, and reunited with their old friend Briggsy (Patrick Bergin), who they want to break out in order that he can be reunited with his dying wife. However, as an old friend is returned, so is an old enemy in the shape of Vic Farrow (Billy Murray), a nasty piece of work who wants to initiate a war with his side and theirs as the breakout commences.

While 2014's We Still Kill the Old Way, from the same director, Sacha Bennett, may have seemed like quite a throwaway, irrelevant gangster flick, it obviously spawned enough of a cult following that this follow up piece has been made. Another attempt to blend the old school crime caper with a more modern, hard hitting style, despite a different premise, Bennett has produced a result much the same, which means that this is pretty much as average as the last film. And it doesn't help that Stealing doesn't carry quite the same dramatic impact as Killing.

Although, as others have noted, stealing isn't even what the plot revolves around, as much as a break out, which is a trade descriptions breach if ever there was one. It's clear from the commentary afterwards that Bennett was trying to pull off a fun filled vibe to the films (which he hopes to repeat with another one!), but there are times when it threatens to interfere with the tone of the film, in the shape of some awfully choreographed fight sequences, and a wobbly mixture of darkness and light, such as Vince Blackwood's murderer character, who provides an uneasy resolve in the end pay-off.

There's a notable chemistry between the characters, and they feed off each other well, and Murray is always a great villain, but, ultimately, this will leave no more or less an impression on you than the last one. **

I'm not one to usually review a movie on here, even if bad. This movie had me going as I love heist movies or anything to do with robbing in general. This movie is incredibly slow paced, and could have been made into a good movie. It's really tough to watch, and by the end you do feel as though you just eagerly wasted two hour's of your life. I waited for the good ending and it never came. I'm curious how "Going in Style" is though as I think it'll make up for watching this junk.

The only reason I can muster as to why I put myself through the at times excruciatingly cringe-worthy plot devices and acting of this badly cobbled together and cliched East-Ender gangster movie, is the fact that I respect the seniority and skill of some of the more well-known actors who bizarrely and for reasons only known to them, graced this flick. Also the fact that I'd allowed for the prequel to this one pass in front of my eyes and thought I'd torture myself just a little further as I've just realised I must be a sucker for punishment. I would like to add that I'm not undermining in any way the effort, money and commitment it must take from all parties involved for any given film project to get off the ground but I am a firm supporter of the idea that if you're gonna do something, for pete's sake do it proper and at least use the real 'One Million Years B.C.' poster featuring the jaw-droppingly stunning Raquel Welch!