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Plot: A group of people who feel betrayed by their government and let down by their police force form a modern-day outlaw posse in order to right what they see as the wrongs of society.
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 13, 2008There's the germ of an intriguing idea in this stylish British crime thriller, but writer-director Love (The Business) never quite follows through on his themes. It looks great, and touches on some important issues, but doesn't seem sure what to do with them.
Three men have been victimised in a way the law is hopeless to address. Dekker (Dyer) is beaten up in the street while his fiancee (Lumley) looks on; Munroe (James) is a lawyer attacked for prosecuting a criminal; and Sandy (Friend) is the victim of a vicious homophobic attack. They link up with a fed-up cop (Hoskins), a security nerd (Harris) and a former soldier (Bean) to even up the score. And their vigilante efforts are praised by the British public, even as the police hunt them down. But they disagree about how far to take things.
The culture of random, vicious violence is something both intriguing and essential as a film subject, as is the media's sensationalistic coverage of violence and the general public's support for celebrity criminals. While Love touches on these ideas, and even plays meaningfully with them in the film's opening half, the overall story merely drifts into a pointless crime thriller as it goes along. Meaty themes slip away, character conflicts are dealt with simplistically (or incoherently), and as the action cranks up the film becomes increasingly lifeless.
The cast continue to deliver committed performances all the way through. While Dyer is strangely muted in what feels like an underwritten (but central) role, Bean and James dig deeply to create men with a sense of internal turmoil. The chemistry between these mismatched losers works well on screen, even though it's never properly developed, especially where Friend's iconic victim and Harris' too-gung-ho creep fit in.
Love shows a strong progression as a director here, with some cool visual moves thanks partly to Sam McCurdy's sleek cinematography and David Julyan's purring score. His skills as a filmmaker have improved notably from project to project, so it's a shame the plot here feels so haphazard, especially since it has the bare bones of a much better, and much more vital film. -
MCT:August 1, 2008
Good plot and storyline, but the constant movement of the camera gave me a headache. I wasn't able to focus on anything that was written down. It was as if the camera operator didn't know how to use the camera, so everything was jerky. There were some bad angles, too. Acting was good, though.
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MCT:July 21, 2008Good acting and intentions are undermined by thin plotting and a senseless resolution that has nothing to say.
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MCT:July 13, 2008A great gritty British vengeance film, where vigilantes take a stand against the bullies in society.
Just when I thought Sean Bean was past his prime, he pulls off a part that suits him really well. -
MCT:June 21, 2008
This is a very good film, quite violent and gritty with a strong cast. Fed up with the soft treatment of criminals and thugs in England, a group forms to administer their own justice. A very relevant subject at the present time as a gang culture seems to be on the rise in England. Although the films deals with getting back at those directly linked to the characters in the film, rather than random people. Everyone will have a view on this. Maybe it could have been done slightly better, they storyline wavers a little in the middle. However it will provoke a reaction from everyone.
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MCT:June 18, 2008
Gene: "How do we fight back?"
Bryant: "I don't know yet...but if you want to spend the rest of your lives getting bullied by cunts like Blair...and having paedophiles wander the fucking playgrounds while you smile mutely and pay your fucking taxes...then get out of the door!"
Nick Love's Outlaw is a fair British crime film that packs one heck of a punch and sends its message home explicitly. Films exported from Britain are usually irresistibly atmospheric and of a high standard (I loved Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, for example). I watched this film purely because of the presence of Sean Bean. In my opinion, Sean is one of the greatest actors currently working in contemporary cinema. He is also a versatile performer with a knack for establishing an atmosphere of malice and dread. Outlaw is a provocative, thought-provoking contemporary thriller that explores the roots of people's shattered lives and reveals the consequences and outcomes when victims of crime seek revenge by taking the law into their own hands. This is an outstanding concept with a promising marketing campaign. The cover and poster were especially good and tempted me to eventually give it a shot (Sean Bean's named in the cast initially sparked my interest, though).
The central characters are mainly victims of a decaying society that has abandoned them. War veteran Danny Bryant (Bean) is court marshalled and sent home. After this incident he has lost all sense of purpose and is fed up with the current state of his home. The plot expands as we are introduced to a bunch of other characters that have had enough of suffering through present society. The law has failed them. This assortment of disconsolate individuals form a modern-day outlaw posse with the intention of enforcing their own brand of justice by punishing the criminal underworld.
One of the taglines for the film reads "when order fails violence prevails" and this essentially sums up the quest that the group undertakes. The group were once disregarded by all, but in their quest they gain notoriety and become public icons. The media are having a field day with the updated information they are constantly fed about the group and their latest escapades. It's only when their personage exceeds their success that the legacy of the group is threatened.
Outlaw was met with mainly a congregation of criticism, which was one factor to consider when I comprehended my urge to watch the film. Currently, I believe this film to be severely underrated. Its themes are powerful and its message is delivered unforgettably. This fact alone deserves recognition as opposed to criticism. The production not only shows that possibility of revenge but also the reluctance and hesitation to engage in vengeful acts. Director Nick Love presents an interesting view of British society: home life, office life and country life as well as displaying other facets we expect from the culture.
Outlaw does deliver a meaningful message, but there are a number of flaws to be pointed out. One of the film's major drawbacks is the blurred style of the film: it's both an intimate examination of the vulgar British underworld as well as a crude vigilante flick. The film has transitory moments of true power, but unfortunately there is not much substance, causing interest to steadily dissipate during the middle section. The brisk running time of about 100 minutes also seemed far too brief. Although the film bogged during the middle section, I felt that there was definitely room to get engaged in the characters more effectively. Instead we move from one event to the other without much of a chance to breathe...and with little character development, we don't care and thus grow bored. If Outlaw dedicated its running time to more absorbing drama to flesh out each character, the results would have been superior.
I must also mention the style of cinematography that the filmmakers utilised. From the first few shots, it looks like a low-budget picture. It looks like it was filmed using cameras you can purchase for less than a thousand dollars. Sure, it adds to the atmosphere; however it's very detracting. The shaky cam during the action and punch-ups is despicable. This has taken shaky cam way too far. It's not effective as we have no idea which characters have been killed, which are still standing...and why these events are actually occurring. The shaky cam is also grossly overused, not to mention that the audio quality was sometimes poor. The dialogue is frequently hard to make out simply because the actors aren't enunciating correctly. This also reflects the directing, which is pretty poor throughout.
Sean Bean's performance as the depressed war veteran is stunning. His emotions come through profoundly, with dialogue delivery always convincing. His facial expressions are overwhelmingly powerful as well. This is one of the roles that the actor was simply born to play. Bean is the only actor who seemingly put in an effort to make his lines understandable as well. The other actors are merely average. Some of the actors have great moments, but not so much in other instances.
Overall, Outlaw is a missed opportunity and a waste of potential. It's underrated for sure due to its poignant message; however the filmmakers had a concept that could have been executed a lot better. The film is quite flawed, although it does make for decent entertainment. -
MCT:June 16, 2008this is a very thought provoking film that takes inspiration from and mashes together deathwish and green street. It starts off well and the good pacing and variety of characters and backgrounds make it intresting. That said, the film seemed to lose the plot towards the end, characters deliberatly act differently to how we'd been introduced to them to show how they have become what they fight against and question are they hero's or villains ? but the transition is too quick and goes against alot of how the film is constructed p and till the final chapter and how they'd developed. In some places it is also a little action light, with "shocking" or "gruesome" scenes seeming a lillte weak in an age of films like hostel and saw.
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MCT:June 12, 2008
it is different and a little crude but from the beggining you se 2 kinds of movies great style actuallly
A group of people who feel betrayed by their government and let down by their police force form a modern-day outlaw posse in order to right what they see as the wrongs of society. -
MCT:May 4, 2008
danny dyer and sean bean in the same film..this was always gonna be good!
the idea is interesting, them taking the law into their own hands and deciding how far is too far. if you like films like the football factory etc this is a must see. -
MCT:April 24, 2008
i thought, that if you put two of the UKs premier actors together along with Sol from Snatch you'd have a hit on your hands. Sean Dean and Danny Deyer are great actors in their own rights. And while the acting in this movie wasn't as bad as the plot neither really meshed wll together. I was looking for something a bit more organized and interesting. Didn't quite get it.
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MCT:April 21, 2008
This film does tackle an interesting topic of when the law fails, should you take the law into your own hands, and how far should you go? This is the type of film that will get people debating, and it is an interesting film to see. Unfortunately I thought that the film seemed to lose the plot towards the end, and the characters seemed to be acting differently to how we'd been introduced to them and how they'd developed.
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MCT:March 30, 2008
An interesting approach to the revenge film, as several distinctly different men come together after they find themselves let down by the system or outright brutalized by people they have no way of standing up to.
The bleak and violent tone of the film is pretty unrelenting as they find their vigilantism not solving as many things as they'd hoped, and the ending is as grim as one might expect.
Recommended. -
MCT:March 30, 2008
a top geeza movie. full of geezas and dogs b....... nick love and danny dyer are a marrage made in heaven, well london maybe hahaha..well worth the watch. sean bean is very low key , but don't be fooled..
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MCT:March 27, 2008Ugh. I really hate this kind of film. This was no exception. Very nice in terms of why we were watching it (Watched it for film studies), and the cinematography was good, and also the issues raised, very nice, but it was awful. Dull. Boring. Rubbish. The only good thing about this film was a Placebo song being on the soundtrack >.>
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MCT:March 25, 2008
For what it was, Outlaw was a good film. Yeah sure it was no Rise of the Footsoldier or Rollin' with the nines but it was a decent film. The performances were good from Bean, Dyer and Hoskins. Surprisingly there wasn't that much violence in this, i thought i was going to see more than i did. The characters could have been better, most were like wimps and pussies until the end and then....well you have to see that for yourself. Also I love how Nick love portrays the cops in this film, just as bad as the villians. It does make you wonder though, whose side the cops are on. There was one grass in this i really wanted to see get his desserts but it never happened and i felt cheated. I disagree about the ending I felt that it brought it nicely to a close. It wasn't contrived but well executed that the outlaws finally got the revenge they were after throughout the film. That aside Outlaw still is a decent movie and it worth watching just to see Hoskins say C**t but word of warning: Never ever say to a london boy "you ain't got the guts or balls son" cause you never know what they got behind their back.
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MCT:March 3, 2008
There's something about Bob Hoskins that make me think he's a badass. This film is those Brit films that I love, where we see their gangs and their misdeeds. Very typical, the diologue was expected but the action was not bad, I love th shot of Hoskins when he met the lead for the first time. The hand-held was strangely mezmerizing.
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MCT:January 29, 2008
Really well shot and i could certainly believe there are people who feel this way in the UK, i know have been a victim of crime I got annoyed at how little the police did... Would I do what these people did... probably not but it is attractive when the legal system favours the criminal and not the victim.
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MCT:January 27, 2008
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MCT:January 13, 2008Failure. "Football Factory with guns" my yellow arse. Very forced and illogical. Very poor dialogue too. All the talent involved in this work have completely let themselves down. I'll have to think twice about Nick Love now.
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MCT:January 8, 2008Not even worth the half star I gave this, I felt cheated out of the time I wasted watching this. The worst film I have seen in the past year and possibly several others and a disapointment from the cast. But to give the cast their dues they did the best they could with a dreadfull script.
There is no social message, the characters are unbelievable and constantly act in a way that left me thinking "they just wouldn't of done that". If you read the Daily Mail and find it informative and insightfull then you will love this.
If however you have a modicom of intelligence and free thought then stay away as you could find your brain leaves you in an act of defience.
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Comments
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marct14posted 276 days ago -
Very disapointed. Loads of potential but the storyline was very poor and the ending just plain daft. It could have been a great movie with a bit more thinking.
posted 471 days ago -
Being a Football Factory and The Business fan, I was pretty disappointed in this one! The film had great potential and yet settled for a mediocre portrayal of real issues... If your into poetic justice, skip this one and go for Boondock Saints instead!
posted 504 days ago -
sounds like a great movie and it has a great cast so im lookin 4ward 2 seein it
posted 600 days ago
