Tower Block

Derivative and largely formulaic thriller, but nevertheless one that remains suspenseful and compelling throughout the entire running time thanks to the raw & gritty atmosphere and a handful of extremely brutal shock-moments. Reminiscent to the other recent British flick "Attack the Block" in terms of tone & social setting, "Tower Block" takes place in a pauperized and crime-infested big city suburb where people abandoned all hope for prosperity long time ago already and desperately avoid every type of contact with fellow human beings. The film entirely takes place in a large apartment complex that is scheduled for destruction and only the residents of the top floor still live there. One Saturday morning, they are rudely awakened by a relentless psycho killer with a sniper rifle. He – or she – fires at everything that moves and placed booby-traps across the building. There's a obvious link with an unsolved murder committed in the block a few months earlier and now the asocial tenants are forced to rely on each other for survival. The biggest trumps for a film such as "Tower Block" are surprise and unpredictability. All the residents are equally insignificant, meaning that literally anyone of them could be next. And they could be next at any random and possible moment, too. Writers/directors duo James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson aptly play with these trumps, as the characters definitely don't die in the order you'd expect. Sniper murders can perhaps get a bit monotonous after a while, but there's enough diversity in killing methods and circumstances. Obviously there's quite a large number of holes and irrationality in the plot and the climax (as in: revelation of the sniper's identity) is weak and disappointing. The acting performances vary between adequate and amateurish, with good roles for tough blond gal Sheridan Smith and "Alien³" veteran Ralph Brown. In case you want to seek out more "serial sniper-killer" movies after this, I warmly recommended the almighty "Dirty Harry" but also the more obscure "Two-Minute Warning", "Targets" and "The Deadly Tower"

'Tower Block' is a good thriller. Its got an original premise, a good cast but the whole motive for the sniper is a bit much, I wont spoil it but it just wasn't believable. The film also had a few continuity issues, not extremely major but very obvious. The film will also probably only appeal to a British audience due to it's setting, characters and dialogue.

Overall 'Tower Block' is an average thriller but it's still enjoyable due to it's interesting and original premise and the fairly good acting. So despite the issues and I'd still give it a go as I'd doubt you will be disappointed.

The screenplay is with intrigues and mind-twisting, but it is hard to judge its probability... Anyway, the action begins with the first minutes of the film and tensions are maintained throughout until the end. The reason for shooting was, however, revealed too soon, but the person behind remained mysterious until the final scene. Performances were great (Sheridan Smith as Becky, Jack O'Connell as Kurtis) or good (the rest), but politically correct attempts to cover the cross-cut of the society (different races-genders-ages) have become annoying as they are used in all similar films.

Nevertheless, a good and compact film to those fond of thrillers in a limited time and space.

I went to see this film without knowing much about it or seeing the trailer. I had read the plot on IMDb just before going into the cinema and didn't know who was in it.

The film starts quite slowly with after the pre-opening sequence. The majority of the characters are introduced and we learn quite a bit about them. I was glad to see Sheridan Smith and Russell Tovey, there acting was good to say they had an average script. I also enjoyed 'that kid from Harry Brown' (Jack O'Connel)'s performance.

The storyline is unique and interesting and once it gets going you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat and guessing who'll be killed.

Jack o'connell manages to turn a firstly hated character into a lovable rouge and is on occasions very humorous.

Overall the film is interesting and chilling with no major disappointment except a few plot points that were not explained; however, it still entertained me to the end.

It doesn't make any sense at all (in many ways, especially don't start with continuity and/or logic), but it can still be fairly enjoyable if you let it. You have your generic characters (good and bad guys thrown into the mix), that assemble and have to find a way to work together. Character motivation is simple as is the premise. Motivation for the ultimate bad guy in this might be paper thin, but if that's all you're worried about, you might as well stop watching.

While not really big in the story department, this does have a way of holding the tension pretty high. The cast is surely to "blame" for that at parts, too. Still don't expect too much and this might even exceed your expectations.