I watched this because of its IMDB rating, a number of positive reviews and the fact that I've seen several good, contemporary-enough movies from the 70s and 80s in recent times.
Unfortunately this wasn't one of them.
Firstly it's horribly dated. It wastes no time in advertising the fact, via its painfully cheesy, 70s synth opening theme music. You know the type - some recording artist got a monophonic analogue synth for Christmas 1974 and thought they'd create something "futuristic" with it, except that it inevitably dates real quick. While you might expect that on low budget, cheesy sci-fi b-movie, why it's been done on a (supposedly) stylised urban gangster thriller is something of a mystery. And it unfortunately continues throughout the movie. On the plus side, it reminded me to revisit some Patrick Troughton era Dr Who.
And then there's the acting which, with is almost uniformly hammy. Surprisingly, Bob Hoskins was arguably (there are many contenders) the worst culprit. Handy hint for would-be *actual* gangsters: if you want to project menace, don't do it by simply widening your eyes and gawping - you'll just look a bit simple, and won't even scare my grandma.
I say *almost* uniformly hammy because, at least, Helen Mirren manages to resemble a proper actor.
The story is simple. Someone's causing trouble, who is it? It ends up being exactly who you thought it would be in the first place. And, unfortunately you don't even get that bit of non-information delivered in a satisfying ending.
If you're hankering for some 70s British gangster action, swerve this rubbish and watch the original Get Carter again.
Unfortunately this wasn't one of them.
Firstly it's horribly dated. It wastes no time in advertising the fact, via its painfully cheesy, 70s synth opening theme music. You know the type - some recording artist got a monophonic analogue synth for Christmas 1974 and thought they'd create something "futuristic" with it, except that it inevitably dates real quick. While you might expect that on low budget, cheesy sci-fi b-movie, why it's been done on a (supposedly) stylised urban gangster thriller is something of a mystery. And it unfortunately continues throughout the movie. On the plus side, it reminded me to revisit some Patrick Troughton era Dr Who.
And then there's the acting which, with is almost uniformly hammy. Surprisingly, Bob Hoskins was arguably (there are many contenders) the worst culprit. Handy hint for would-be *actual* gangsters: if you want to project menace, don't do it by simply widening your eyes and gawping - you'll just look a bit simple, and won't even scare my grandma.
I say *almost* uniformly hammy because, at least, Helen Mirren manages to resemble a proper actor.
The story is simple. Someone's causing trouble, who is it? It ends up being exactly who you thought it would be in the first place. And, unfortunately you don't even get that bit of non-information delivered in a satisfying ending.
If you're hankering for some 70s British gangster action, swerve this rubbish and watch the original Get Carter again.