Rancid Aluminium

Pete Thompson's father dies and leaves him the whole business. However his friend and business accountant, Sean Deeny, reveals that the business is in major trouble with the taxman. To get past the problem Sean and Pete go into business with the Russian mafia. However Pete has other plans to get rich, while Sean just wants to have kids and have a quiet life.

In the past few years the spate of British gangster films has been very much one of copies of `Lock Stock' etc. Some of them manage to be different and clever enough to work, but many are poor copies that lack any style or substance. Unfortunately for my evening, Rancid Aluminium falls within the latter category. The plotting is very poor, it is rambling and has nothing resembling tension or gripping narrative. In essence it is a short film with all the scenes stretched out to longer than they can sustain. The end result is a loose mess of a plot that doesn't really hang together at all.

The film can't manage the style of Lock, Stock – instead it feels forced, maybe this was the director's first film – it certain feels like he is trying to impress someone with old ideas that are fresh to him. The script also fails to really bring any characters out, instead they are pretty much all flat clichés. Now, I know the same is true of those in Lock, Stock and Snatch, but at least these had some redemption by being funny and tongue in cheek at points. Here that is pretty much not the case with any of the characters. Ifans makes good effort but is hampered by the script, he is the best of a poor bunch. Fiennes is awful, no sooner had he got the perfect career springboard in `Shakespeare in Love' then he does this. His accent is awful and his overall performance is weak. Fitzgerald, Frost and Behr all just line up to be naked and have their sex scenes. It is slightly degrading to see the film be so unimaginative that it just has regular sex scenes to keep the audience interested. Berkoff and Allen are hammy and pretty pointless.

Overall this film has few if any redeeming qualities. Any it does have are because it copied it from other, better films. It is full of nonsense that the director mistook for style or modern wit. A real waste of time and effort.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Rancid Aliminium,like most gangster type films of it's ilk,did,of course,have the potential to be great.There are some intriguing and exciting new ideas to be explored here,but unfor -tunately,they are mostly squandered by what is mostly the film's biggest downfall,the frenetic and ill-explored pace at which it sets itself into action.It seems like a hodgepodge of ideas from each of the different genres:Comedy,thriller,Gangster Movie,action,all of which are concocted together at various different points to make up for a confusing and too fast paced for it's own good story.Most of the performances were very disappointing too:Rhys Ifans,in the lead role,was the best thing on offer,obviously trying to make his role stand out more than it could have,maybe even taking sympathy on the over zealous screenwriter so that his electric work could not fail ('I was obviously born to mow lawns ,and look after goldfish!')

But Josepth Fiennes emerged as routinely cold as his villainous brother,not really standing out as to why he was any worse than Rhys,whilst Sadie Frost as a russian bad girl babe clearly thought she was starring in the new James Bond film.

The title did'nt make an awful lot of sense,either.

And yet,as ever,any IMDB members who are situated in Britain like me who play the national lottery know exactly who is ultimately responsible for the making of this kind of film:us.**

Quite frankly I thought I was alone in having seen this appalling movie. Words almost fail me as to how truly dreadful it is. I left the cinema fuming with anger - having been robbed of two hours of my life.

In some senses it is truly remarkable; it has absolutely no redeeming features - whatsoever... incomprehensible plot, wooden acting, awful direction, dreadful script, baffling editing... it is difficult to know wehre to stop....

Often I would say, watch it and make up your own mind. But quite honestly, I wouldn't wish this movie on anyone. It would be funny if it wasn't so buttock-clenchingly awful.

Now for its good points... Nope. Can't think of a single solitary one.

Now for the love of God, run like the wind if somone offers to show it you.

This film is about a man's life going wrong. His business is failing, and he cannot impregnate his wife despite multiple attempts.

The plot is complete chaos. It simply does not make sense. In fact, nothing in the film makes sense. The story is so poorly told that I simply could not understand it. It is a shame, because the sets and costumes are done well, and are visually stimulating enough. The shots are well composed throughout the film. However, these redeeming features still cannot make up for the bad plot and poor story telling. I am amazed by the big names who agreed to star in this film. It is such a waste of their talents. This film is very bad. Avoid it!!

First of all, I should've known better than to go to see a film that was being flyposted around London with a recommendation from The Daily Star emblazoned at the top of it. Second of all, the only reason I went at all was because my girlfriend was in a post-Shakespeare In Love Joseph Fiennes phase.

And oh dear god it's bad. It doesn't help that it makes absolutely no sense, mainly due to some of the most jarring cuts I've ever seen outside a GCSE film project. One scene in particular threw me entirely when Rhys Ifans' character was in London one minute, being vaguely threatened by some cliched heavy, but once I'd glanced away for a second (probably checking my watch) I looked up to find that he was suddenly in Russia, being sneered at by some different cliched heavies. Elsewhere the editing is seriously misguided - several times the film lingers on pointless scenes featuring female flesh, while seemingly integral plot points are rushed through, patched together unsatisfactorily by a hammy voiceover.

Both Fiennes and Ifans - actors I rate - are quite terrible, but words can only hint at how appalling Steven Berkoff is in this film. He pretty much only says one word (several times) - "Beeeeeeeezneeeeeeesss", and every time he did I couldn't help but think that he was gradually making his villain in Rambo 3 seem like an acting tour de force.

I've never once walked out on a film before. I'm clearly too stubborn - we were the only two people that DIDN'T walk out at the screening we attended. Comfortably the worst film I have ever paid so endure.