Movies
A solid but typical crime film. Tom Hardy takes on the roles of Ron and Reggie Kray, two infamous London crime lords who established themselves during the 60s. Helgeland doesn't really stray too far away from the beaten path, delivering a fairly simple rise and fall story that starts off rather quirky and fun, but turns more dramatic towards the end. Hardy does a good job, though at times it feels like he's trying too hard to differentiate between the two brothers. Browning is decent too, but she fails to make a real impression. Luckily the secondary cast is on point, with fine actors like Paul Anderson and David Thewlis providing the necessary support. The first hour is by far the most interesting, with small nods to Ritchie that help to brighten the mood. 135 minutes is a bit long though and once the inevitable fall starts, the film begins to lose some of its appeal. It's definitely not a bad option when you're in the mood for some crime cinema, just don't expect anything extraordinary.Read all
A basic title for a basic film. Payback is a bog-standard 90s thriller, with Mel Gibson looking to take his revenge for just about the entirety of the film. A good 25 years later, there's very little to set the film apart and unless you're a major Gibson fan, there's not much reason to revisit this one. Porter was duped by his wife and partner in crime, for a mere 70.000 dollars. He was left for dead, but he survived and once he's back on his feet, he only wants one thing (remember the title of the film). His old partner has connections to an organized crime syndicate though, so it won't be easy. So Gibson. Not a very talented actor, but he has some charisma. The same can't be said about director Helgeland, who does very little with the material given to him. At least the film is rather short, and the setting is appropriately grimy. Other than that, not a film I'll remember for long.Read all