Johnny Was

My girlfriend brought this movie home. I was pleasantly surprised in the 1st few minutes of this film. Vinnie Jones has always shown he's a great actor, the music was spot on, and the love interest, was, well, lovely. Lennox Lewis was comic relief, both as a character, and as a thespian. Eric LaSalle shows a nice fake yard boy accent. As a Saturday night diversion, this did me well. Toward the end, there's a bit of a twist, which I did not care for, but it did not ruin the movie for us.

The soundtrack and the location shoot was very well done, all in all, I would recommend this movie to anyone who liked ..say, "Lock Stock, and two smoking barrels".

What a complete surprise and what a great story. I went to the screening with a bunch of friends knowing virtually nothing about this other than the cast, which was very celeb-driven.

It looks like a little low key action movie, and in some ways it is, but the story, the quirky characters and the subject matter - about race, national identity and gangster morality - is much smarter than most of the britflicks of recent years. It is like a strange hybrid of Long Good Friday and dark almost comic-book B Movie, and the low key dialogue plays well against the violence in the background.

It completely pulled me in. Vinnie Jones had one foot in his usual hard-man act, but the other was as a much more thoughtful guy, running away from his past.

Patrick Bergin plays a larger than life veteran psycho and is responsible for most of the dark laughs. La Salle is great and the opposite of his old ER character. Talking with my friends afterwards, there was disagreement about Samantha Mumba the former pop singer. Some thought she was too low key, but I thought she played the character of a junkie gangsters girl very well. Everyone agreed that Vinnie and Lennox Lewis were the best performances. Old Rocker Roger Daltrey was also good in a smaller role.

Some of the action looked a bit wobbly, but London came out looking well, especially Brixton Market.

Our verdict: if you are looking for a big budget action movie, this isn't it. But if you are sick and tired of movies which are all flash and no substance, this one with its unusual settings and great characters that stay with you after the movie is over might be for you.

The last person's negative comments are a laugh. Me-109 or whatever his name is says everyone is is wrong because they enjoyed the movie, or else (unlike him!) they are all just hype because most only did one review - but Me has only ever written two (and both say 'don't watch this movie it is all hype'). Most people don't post too many reviews because we have a life and maybe don't see so many things we like enough. Most of the comments are from UK and Ireland because that was where the movie was made and played at festivals. It only just came over here (U.S.).

This movie is not for anyone like the moaner who wants to take it too seriously. It is a fun B Movie made for not a lot of money that I went to see because I love reggae. Lots of the comments say that. Watch it on those terms and enjoy it or not, but spare the rest of us the lectures. Go find a movie you like and tell us why instead. I for one will be waiting for the soundtrsck.

Only saw review DVD, but enjoyed it. Actually watched it twice, partly due to a really great reggae soundtrack, and liked it better second time.

While it is a bit rough at the edges, it has some great performances and a sort of quirky appeal. The idea of an unsafe safe house works well, and there is an interesting dynamic between Vinny Jones, Patrick Bergin and Eriq LaSalle. While it is a thriller, it does not take itself too seriously and I agree with the 'spagetti western' comments elsewhere. Nice twist in the ending and some good one-liners.

Jones gives a very solid performance a long way from his usual tough guy, Bergin is theatrical, but entertaining and Eriq LaSalle is powerful as a gangster who wants to be a businessman.

It zips along and the wall-to-wall reggae is first rate - must be about 30 or 40 tracks

What can I say? I watched this movie because of the IMDb ratings, and I just can't believe that they are real. It looks like the online marketers got to this one, because the movie is awful. Don't believe the other reviews. The plot has holes in it, the characters aren't believable and basically it's one big embarrassment for the UK film industry. If only the ratings would have reflected this obviously bad movie, I would have avoided it. Leave this one on the shelf, or at least don't expect a movie worth a rating of (as of my writing) a seven and a half. I love how the other reviews are so professional sounding, with such interesting insights into the movie. Let me quote a couple:

jagon1 (only ever reviewed 1 movie): 'I'd like to compare this film to Crash, as it successfully integrates people of different races forced to coexist with one another.' - this movie is a comedy and crash is a drama.. The Jamaicans and Brits in London get on quite well together. Marketing hype.

rustyandamber from Dublin (the movie is about Irish terrorists, interesting coincidence.. yes again only one comment): "Music was a big thing - I like rap and rock but reggae is totally different. Lennox's mixes were great." - I like rap and rock but reggae is totally different? what? This isn't real.

parkertilley from saint vincent (who also only ever reviewed this movie) has the following detailed information in his/her review: "(Vinnie Jones (XMEN 3), Patrick Bergin, Roger Daltrey--YES, from the WHO!). Especially when one of the IRA guys tries to steal the gangster's girl (Samantha Mumba (TIME MACHINE))." - This is marketing hype.

megan-206 (who, you guessed it, only ever wrote this single review): Women could see this film and enjoy it. - yes, this is marketing.

Exactly 11 of the 23 reviews talk about how amazing the soundtrack is. I have never seen so many reviews talk about a movie's soundtrack. Quite handy since the soundtrack comes on the DVD.. - Marketing hype.

I could go on and into more detail, but I wont. As of writing this, almost every good review of this movie reads as a marketing ploy. Maybe one or two are real, but the rest sound the same, are _overly_ positive, keep going on about the soundtrack and have never written another review.