Jackdaw

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.

I like what the writers were trying to do here. I am a sucker for the run all night kinds of films, just thrown into the action and barely getting an escape from it. But if anything I wanted more depth from the film and characters and it just didn't have enough time.

I loved the overall atmosphere of the film, the foggy and dark night time settings and the music was just on point and great the entire time.

The film is totally worth a watch, I enjoyed it in the end.

Also I have loved Oliver Jackson-Cohen ever since I first saw him in Faster(2010) so I had to watch this one and he really does a great job once again in his acting delivery.

Give it a chance if you are a sucker for these kind movies like me.

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.

In grim seaside England, ex-soldier Jack Dawson (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is struggling to care for his brother Simon. He takes a job from lowlife Silas to pick up a package floating in the North Sea. The money for the job isn't there and he decides to keep the package. Simon gets taken. While Jack is searching for Simon, he encounters his ex Bo (Jenna Coleman). The package actually belongs to mysterious drug lord Armstrong.

This is a lower budget British crime drama. I recognize a lot of these actors. I would like to get rid of some of gimmicky crime aesthetics. It is a little funny that the movie calls out some of it. I still would like Silas to be less disco and more Mean Streets. I'm fine with the motorbikes. The horses add a strange British backwoods touch. I like the father reveal and most of the final confrontation. This is not great, but it is good enough for the budget.

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.