Proper_Penguin

A really beautifully shot film, nice effects and pretty much good acting by the cast. Understandably Willis didn't participate much due to health reasons but those of us of a certain age can't help but remember his stellar action performances back in the day and it's hard not to be frustrated watching him not perform to his potential.

That being said it's the story that lets this movie down, it tries to be clever and it probably appears to be on paper, or by those who are up close. Unfortunately though it doesn't work. I can put this down to the way in which several characters are not given much in the way of development and remain very much two-dimensional.

You really don't care about their back story, which I understand doesn't seem important as we are told they are all criminals, but if that's the case why bother giving us an insight into them. All of their stories are left flapping in the wind with no coherent energy to stitch them together, or just bring them to a neat conclusion.

The film just feels unfinished and rushed.

If you're a fan of the first two films which spawned this Franchise (Death on the Tyne) and (Murder on the Blackpool Express) or even if you're just a fan of Johnny Vegas in general, you'll probably hate this.

He's been reduced to a bumbling idiot in order to provide comic relief - and boy does this film need relief. It really wants taking out back and shooting, if I'm honest. The only time Vegas' character has not been given a line to show off his stupidity, is when he's been given one to show off his grumpiness. He's only been given enough material to flip flop between those two states.

Even the haircut he's been given is a metaphor for how all the life has been battered out of any potential his character may have had initially and all that remains is a droopy floppy mess.

Gemma is firmly in charge of the pairing which is very much a gamble, considering she's about as useful as a lighthouse during a power cut and only slightly more intelligent than her sister's character who has really no need to be there.

For those who've never heard of either Vegas or Gibson before, you may find this a pleasant outing. For those of us who have seen what they're both capable of, it's very disappointing and truly worth a miss. Won't even bother watching the others as I value my braincells.

I really like Johnny Vegas (Ideal) and Sian Gibson (Car Share) and did actually like their previous two outings as a crime solving duo. This one really left me feeling underrated though. I think if I were to read the script on paper, I would have found some of the dialogue and scenarios pretty funny and no doubt I'm sure the cast had a laugh whilst filming it. But something about the way it was ultimately transcribed to screen has somehow really sucked the humour out of it. This is strange since it was directed by Ed Bye who has done some fantastic stuff with Red Dwarf.

My general gripe is the way the dialogue just seems to be a cascade of gags which fail to hit the mark more often than not, but do very much succeed in clawing you out of any moment you feel like you might actually be engaging with the plot. You end up with a general apathy from being forced to find the comedic side in every situation, even a grizzly murderous rampage. Gemma's character came across as more of a two-dimensional annoyance to Terry's constant miffed persona more than anything else. I found myself willing for her to be the next victim quite often, just for some peace from her relentless inane commentary and overacting.

The scenes between her and Terry stretch the absurd to further inject more relentless comedy, but unfortunately this sacrifices the chemistry they used to have on screen and makes their pairing seem even more unrealistic. You end up yearning for a bit of real non-shock value dialogue to ground the story line and it just isn't there.

Instead you just get character after character, pushing every line they've been given to the extreme as if somehow trying to showcase their resume. The story struggles to move on in a cohesive manner when you just have a collection of acting cameos that are nothing but escalating performances of nonsense jigsawed together. This might have been better reserved for Panto as it certainly doesn't work for me as a TV Viewer.