Hyena

the funny is that after so many years trying so hard to sit through all the crime genre films out of the British movie industries, none of them ever could hold my focus and most of the time, i just quit after tormenting and torturing myself for about 20 to 30 boring, uninteresting of my life. except kept hearing the modern curse word "Fxxking" this, "Fxxking" that, a word used to be "Bloody" couple of years ago in every British movie, there was nothing coherent enough to be recognized as a 'good' enough movie, albeit 'decent' or even 'great' one.

this 'hyena' is no exception at all. what a bore, man. full of unlikable screen personalities, bored to death scenarios and storyline, cardboard acting, non-exit direction, what we got here is nothing but another hyped hollow, snail-crawling crap out of London. the average ratings on IMDb are around 6+_, and on rottentomatoes.com even got a higher 7+ rating average, gee, are we watching the same movie of the same title? i really don't want to write a review of this typical British tasteless wax ball, but i just couldn't help myself, man. watching this movie is like when hiking on the mountain trail, i suddenly overhear a mountain goat 'Meh...meh...' behind some rocks.

A corrupt cop Michael leads a team who tackle drug trafficking in London. But they act more like a gang of criminals themselves. Michael habitually cuts deals with the dealers but the arrival of two violent Albanian criminals, who not only traffic drugs but young women as well, presents him with a moral dilemma; while at the same time his team's corruption is threatened with exposure by an old colleague from his past who is assigned to work alongside them.

The hyena of the title is of course the bad cop Michael played by Peter Ferdinando. He is a pretty unglamourized central character. I was brought to mind of the film Pusher, particularly the remake set in London. Both films have protagonists who are engulfed in immorality and who are set on a downward spiral, while both also have scarily authentic ethnic gangsters from the south eastern Mediterranean providing the main threat of brutality. But maybe it's this very familiarity that is the problem, in that it seems like we have been here before with British crime flicks. What does stand out somewhat are the occasional moments of extreme grimness. On a few occasions we are presented with pretty visceral violence or the results of it, while there is also the repulsive sight of an overweight man having sex with a comatose girl to contend with. These horrible moments do hit home though and ensure this is a film that doesn't pull its punches. It's a film that is stylised at times, such as the opening assault of the neon lit club, and with an effective moody soundtrack from, of all people, The The. But it certainly isn't over-stylised which is something many other recent examples in the crime genre are, this ensures it has a grittier aesthetic overall which fits in with the story. On the whole though, there's nothing really new here though so in the final analysis it's a solid film as opposed to a very good one.

The plot is that a drug squad in London is seemingly as corrupt as the people they are trying to police. Michael (Peter Ferdinando) is the Detective Sergeant and he is the central figure with a taste for coke (the snorting variety) but essentially a good heart that is obscured by his own greed. 'The book' is for other cops in this film where the line between the law and law breakers is very opaque indeed.

Then their cozy World gets turned upside down when two Albanian low life's turn up and start to make things rather uncomfortable - that is when the line between good and bad goes from blurred to non existent.

Now there are some big names here; Stephen Graham and Neil Maskell both giving convincing performances as ever. The acting is all better than good; the direction and the production are superior too. Some of the scenes are very stylishly done, but the visceral depictions of violence (both on and off screen) makes sure that this does not become a 'classy crime flick'. The ending will leave some a bit annoyed but this is in most places a down to earth and realistically imagined film - hence my rating. Not one for the squeamish but one that shows a good Brit crime film can still be made.

First of all, if you do not get what this movie is truly about. Don't watch it, bothering to comment on how you don't get the point. That being said, which might be a bit upsetting for some. This film was really an enjoyable experience, in the sense that it is quite rare to watch the guts pouring out of honest film making. The acting is brilliant, tone is consistent throughout the film, which is rare enough to be mentioned. It is quite graphic, since most people experienced breaking bad, it is OK. Soundtrack by "the the" adds to the magnetic feel of the film. The action is driven, captivating, edgy. This is how more movies need to be made. I won't even compare to other, bigger budget, commercially successful gangster films. I won't explain the end since I found it quite good. Bonus if you read the anecdote section. Liked this movie a lot as you can tell by now. Thanks if you took time to read this review.

Totally enjoyed this movie. It does have some plot holes that are bridged with some leaps. That said, it's an enaging, visual piece. It doesn't follow all the tropes, just some and that is a solid choice. Stephen Graham as ususal delivers in an understated, powerful way.