Brotherhood

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

Sam Peel (Noel Clarke) has settled down with girlfriend Kayla (Shanika Warren-Markland) and two children, and has put his unsavoury past behind him. But he is thrust back into it when his younger brother Royston (Daniel Anthony) is gunned down while performing at a live show. Flash new crook Daley (Jason Maza) wants him to work for him, and has joined forces with Sam's old enemy Uncle Curtis (Cornell John) who has his own agenda. Sam tries to stay on the straight and narrow, until an horrific act plunges him back into the underworld he'd tried so hard to escape.

Noel Clarke obviously felt, eight years after the last instalment Adulthood, that the series needed to be rounded off a little more than it already was, and so we have this, we are assured, the final part. Some backstage politics, shall we say, have clearly played their hands here, and so we see the Moony character missing altogether, and Sam mysteriously settled down with his girlfriend from the last film?!?, and of course Adam Deacon's Jay completely absent following the well documented real life spat that spewed up between him and Clarke. Personally, I didn't miss his hyper street kid antics this time round.

While it still packs a powerful emotional punch or two, somehow the raw, gritty, uncompromising nature that characterised the first two films just isn't as evident here. Those films (the first one especially) were from the mind of a young man who had grown up in this unfortunate world, and who gained acclaim by recklessly writing down and screening all the types of stuff he'd seen, and as a result made a film that was 'as potent as a shot of vodka in the morning' as one tabloid review memorably put it. With such a large space of time between this and the last film, the cast (those still in it) and the material with them feel like they've grown up a bit, and this time it all seems to be played more for laughs, even during intense, dramatic scenes, especially from Arnold Oceang's Henry.

That aside, the story all feels cobbled together without the strongest narrative flow and there's an air of predictability about a lot of it that doesn't go unnoticed. It's still worth seeing, though, a grown up, more seasoned ending that those from this generation will feel they've shared the journey with. ***

Noel Clarke brings us the third and final instalment of his self written London street Drama spanning over ten years with KiDULTHOOD released back in 2006, followed by AdULTHOOD in 2008. I have always considered these films the British answer to Boyz N The Hood and Menace II Society addressing the tragedies of London's youthful generation. 

I'm a fan of these films by default, purely to having my own fair share of drama with gang fights, drug raids and hospital visits, though don't get me wrong, I'm a good boy I assure you, I was known as 'the sensible one'; it's just my perfect circle of friends have allowed me to witness a life that some people will only see in films like these; I'm more like the Henry's and Ricky's of the street world.

During my troublesome teens back in the nineties, I wanted to make films myself and this was the subject matter of a lot of my stories with friends still urging me to write a book, so naturally when KiDULTHOOD was released I was both annoyed yet inspired by Clarke beating me to it, it's a story I can certainly relate to. 

If you haven't seen the previous films, it does help to fully understand who's who though it's not essential. As a brief recap, Sam (Noel Clarke) murders a fellow street hood Trife, serves time and upon release is truly sorry for what has happened, though the past is rarely forgivable and revenge is always lurking around the corner. No matter how much Sam tries to turn his life around, there's always someone haunting him. 

The deceased Trife's Uncle Curtis, played by Cornell John (he's the sensei in the latest advert for McDonald's chicken sandwiches!) is released from prison and returns to conclude unfinished business with Sam, enlisting the help of some new ruthless faces to make life difficult for Sam and taking things to the extreme. 

There's some powerful portrayals in this movie, especially liking Leeshon Alexander's character HUGS who looks like the love child of Clive Owen and Tom Hardy; and Shanika Warren- Markland's Kayla who from the previous and Clarke's 4.3.2.1. However wasn't so keen on David Ajala's Det. Des or Jason Maza's crime boss Daley. 

It's hard-hitting and probably the most emotional of the trilogy whilst still having it's comical elements, mostly provided by a grown-up Henry. (Arnold Oceng) Obviously, revenge is the main topic but there's a great sense of justice and loyalty portrayed here, especially the scene with Hassan (Chris Ryman) in the kebab shop.

Tom Linden does quite a haunting score, such a nice touch having the ambient hum intensifying dramatic scenes, reminded me of Michael Mann's Heat and of course, the soundtrack that accompanies the film is superb incorporating British rap, hip hop and grime from artists like Stormzy, Asher D, Chip and Lethal Bizzle. It's the perfect soundtrack to represent street life of London and in combination with the locations, it's gives the city the dynamic look it deserves. 

It's obvious Clarke isn't fan of Michael Bay however, he does something Bay is notoriously disliked for, unnecessary nudity, like, lots of it and full frontals. Whilst pleasing to the eye it isn't essential to the film at all and feels like a push to give the film an 18/R certificate. 

Regardless of It's low points it's a perfect conclusion to the trilogy so fans of the previous films should enjoy this as I did. Clarke is a great testament for London film making. Maybe we could fast-forward a few years into PaRENTHOOD being about reputation and struggling to keep your kids from the same fate. 

"R U dizzy blud?" 

Running Time: 7 The Cast: 7 Performance: 7 Direction: 9 Story: 7 Script: 7 Creativity: 9 Soundtrack: 9 Job Description: 8 The Extra Bonus Point: 10 for being a blinding finish to the trilogy innit. Result.

80% 8/10

I only gave this movie its score cause daz black was in it and he's class.

Brotherhood is the third in the series of Noel Clarke films set in London and featuring Sam Peel . Sam has grown up and is a different person to the one we saw in Kidulthood but trouble still seems to follow him in the form of an enemy who has come to seek revenge. What I like about these films is they feel very real. Although Brotherhood is more polished than the two previous films it still has that Independent vibe about it. None of the people on show are particularly likable which makes it quite hard to care what happens to them and the language is uncomfortable to hear at times . The main villain's racism seems over the top and unnecessary and kind of spoils what is an interesting film.

Kidulthood was a dark, exciting, and insightful look into the London youth culture. Adulthood expertly built on that and showed the struggles of those trying to escape the endless cycle of violence that grips the streets. Both combined danger, humour and awesome urban soundtracks to depict perfectly the modern gang scene- but most importantly- did so in a BELIEVABLE manner. Brotherhood did not reach those standards in any way. The cast failed to live up to the performances of the original movies. The plot seemed very far fetched, and often needs saving by the quite random jokes involving "Henry" (from Adulthood). Instead of the sinister threats posed by Sam Peel in the original, or Jay in the sequel, the audience are treated to an absolutely absurd duo of Daley & Hugz, who just weren't menacing enough in comparison. The involvement of Stormzy (along with his relatively polite well spoken posse) don't really accomplish anything in the movie and appear to be there just to balance out the pointless appearance of Curtis, still reeling from his Nephew's murder 20 odd years on. All in all, Anuvahood was probably more believable than this, I would give it a miss and watch reruns of Channel 4's excellent Top Boy instead.