Jackdaw

Quite harshly judged by some of the other reviews. If all films below 6* on imdb were like this I'd be happy. Not a world beater for sure, but I really enjoyed the retro feel of it, and the soundtrack that went with it. Ended up uncertain about whether it was a recent film or slightly older.

I think the film reflects the sometimes mundane nature of the drugs trade and people involved in it, but it still kept me entertained and engaged. The atmosphere was sustained through the film for me.

Loved the setting on the film in the North East. Would happily seek out and watch anything else by this director.

"Jackdaw" is a dark Brittish thriller that looked like it could be cool with its badass hero and plenty of motorbike action. Plus it also stars Jenna Coleman and "This is Englands" Thomas Turgoose which is a bonus. But I wanted to like it more.

There are some decent little chases and shootouts, and a genuinely scary looking villian. But the plot is pretty straightforward and more and more unlikely things happen as it all comes to a finale that just fizzles out.

Its still decent enough though with its promising start, its overall style and cool music. As well as its nice cast. Still making for an above average gritty movie.

Jackdaw is a solid indie action thriller. The first twenty minutes are top notch, the way it is shot and the vidual ideas are better than most big budget films nowadays. Unfortunately it isn't able to sustain that high momentum and becomes a bit more like a mundane gangster story. It it is obviously a low to mid-budget movie, but that never bothered me. You can tell that the crew put a lot of heart into it, the good lighting does make this look better than the standard DTV fare. The weakness lies in the writing, especially he protagonist is not very interesting on paper. The brothers relationship seems only sketched out, the family angle started intriguing but I expected more. In terms of action, the best parts are at the beginning and I wished they would have done more with the motor bike and the uneven terrain. There is too little vehicular action, especially when the poster or the trailer are suggesting otherwise. Most action set pieces fizzle out and it felt like there is always that final piece missing to make it memorable.

Still, there is something about this movie and it's simple premise that kept me entertained and even stayed with me after the viewing. The locations and the vibe gave a nostalgic John Carpenter-esque atmosphere that really stood out, and although it has some problems with bland characters it was a good enough ride to recommend. At the end of the day it's a solid crime thriller with a few action elements, and it has heart.

Not wishing to start rumours, but if Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jenna Coleman were ever to have child, it would be a thing of beauty! It may not, however, be terribly discerning as this film is nobody's finest hour. OJC is the eponymous character. A former moto-cross champion with a bit of baggage, he is reduced to intercepting packages strapped to wind turbines in the North Sea for his slightly bonkers dealer pal "Silas" (Joe Blakemore). Something's gone wrong with his latest mission though. There's no payday awaiting him at the rendezvous point, then he gets shot at by a man on a horse! Luckily his ageing bike has more HP that the real thing so he escapes only to run out of petrol, then thump a cop who tries to apprehend him, then end up calling in some favours to try and find who has kidnapped his brother "Simon" in apparent retaliation for him not delivering the goods. Still with me? "Jack Dawson" (yep, there are a few "Titanic" jokes) has now to try and fathom who has his sibling and en route we encounter some unsavoury types from England's North East before a frankly rather underwhelming denouement. Coleman features unremarkably once or twice, as does the quite engaging Thomas Turgoose as the outwardly weedy but surprisingly resilient "Craig" but the writing is all a bit bland, the story a bit thin and undercooked and the set-piece scenarios are just too staged - especially the police raid of the rave - to be effective. It's watchable and to be fair it doesn't hang around, but it could just as easily be an episode of "The Professionals" and I doubt I'll recall it for long.

Director can shoot nice looking stuff, the opening ten mins are suspenseful and well shot/edited.

After that opening, the whole thing collapsed into a badly realised student film type script with no credible characters, terrible attempts at comedy and zero credibility.

Which is a shame as it had a promising set up, and was attempting to do a Walter Hill type action film.

Characters are paper thin badly realised cliches and the dialogue is dire. There isn't a realistic interaction between anyone after the opening ten or so minutes.

Telling, the opening was mostly silent.

Hire a proper scriptwriter next time (if there is a next time).

Missed opportunity.