lor_ No, this is not the direct fault of Tarantino or Ritchie or any conspiracy. This exceedingly trite and uninteresting film is the result of the popularity in recent decades of what I often term "pseudo-hip" cinema, a condescending attitude toward his or her audience by a scriptwriter (as well as a director) who feels more perceptive than the average bloke. Or average filmmaker who came before them (in this case, see the British gangster films of the '50s by the likes of Lewis Gilbert or starring Richard Attenborough.Both Gilbert, more famous for his later Bond movies and quality feel-good items like "Educating Rita" and "Shirley Valentine", there will never be praise or film-buff adoration. No, it is the pranksters who catch the public's eye, but this followup to the unusual (and vastly overrated, natch) "Sexy Beast" has nothing to offer.It is basically a one-act play, suitable perhaps for acting class or some limited run at a hard-up local repertory theatre. There's an assortment of gangster cliché figures, hardly worth calling characters, and their victim, an adulterer.The subject of adultery is run into the ground here as if it were novel, timely or even remotely interesting. Ray Winstone, who I first admired way back in "Quadrophenia" and "Scum" (and even "That Summer") when an independent British Cinema (see: hit "Gregory's Girl") was making its name internationally, is stuck with a useless, unplayable role unworthy of his talents as the sob-story vegetable of a protagonist.His pals/comrades are written to let the talented actors chew the scenery, with the great John Hurt especially indulgent in delivering a retarded, foul-mouthed zero. Ian McShane fares the best, given literate soliloquies to recite and basically able to stay above the low-life fray as an egotistical homosexual gangster. I first became a fan of his in 1971 watching "Villain" at a local Cleveland drive-in theater and though that gangster film (part of an early '70s renaissance headed by Mike Hodges) was roundly knocked by the critics, its violent power impressed me, as did the journeyman director, like Hodges from Brit TV, Michael Tuchner.So Ritchie and his imitators sell tickets, and we will see this nonsensical rush to the bottom continue. These films are not entertaining nor enlightening -mere exercises in "Look ma, I'm swearing!" We probably have that jerk Brian DePalma and his "Scarface" to thank for that.

Adam Peters (48%) What maybe could have been the British equivalent of "Reservoir dogs" with its almost single location, tough guy crooks, and talky script sadly just doesn't have the depth to warrant a full length feature length film. The performances on the other hand are really very good from the strong cast, but the lack of any real substance hampers throughout resulting in by the end a somewhat pointless watch. Combine that with a script that for long periods amounts to little more than almost constant cockney based foul mouthed swearing that makes this only a half recommendation mainly for the acting and sadly not a lot whole lot else.

Luke L. Bolton Im sorry to say it, but I hated this movie. I suppose the actors tried and put on o.k. performances, but the story line was stupid, the dialogue was annoying, the whole movie was just annoying to watch.If I had of known better I would not have payed a quarter (25 cents) to watch this movie. Story: alright, some young guy slept with an old English dude's wife, so old English dude gos all psycho , gets a bunch of his semi loser friends together and they kidnap young guy that slept with old dude's wife. Then they sit around talking all this B.S. dialogue...And you get to listen to old dude rant and whine about how young guy slept with his wife and ruined his whole life. Hello! REALLY! Get over it old dude, its the year 2011 (or 2009 when movie came out , i think), people sleep with each other all the time and the world doesn't end. Also I just really don't care that young guy slept with old dude's wife, far less wish to see a whole movie based upon this fact.And to be fair, I suppose the camera work and some of the acting and dialogue was o.k. but this doesn't change the fact that the story,majority of dialogue and the character's were boring and annoying. If you want a good thriller or drama please look else where. I dislike this movie so much, I can't even be bothered to edit my review of it properly.

dracher 44 inch chest received mixed reviews but one thing is evident to me. Whenever a reviewer doesn't know what say, or is genuinely afraid to look beyond the obvious, he/she invariably says very little or nothing about the piece and instead, heaps praise upon the only thing they can be sure of getting right and that is the quality of those actors who have already established themselves as leading and substantial performers, in other words, they state the bleeding obvious.Mr Roby in the telegraph even went so far (after exaggerating the facts regarding the story)as to narrow it down to three brilliant actors, presumably leaving out in the cold those wonderful actors who were not Mr Winstone, Mr Hurt and Mr McShane.44inch chest is a refreshing break with the standard London gang land film and manages to explore well below the surface of the characters and the world in which such people live and operate. It is a story of people , who happen to be Crims, rather than another tale woven around brutal murder, robbery and guns. Much(too much)has been made of the profanity, for goodness sake, you can hear this level of language in any London pub, in any garage workshop or factory in England, what do people expect from such men and women? they must use this level of profanity to be credible. From the start, where, like an overture, the camera beautifully creates the atmosphere, to the very end, the film is brilliantly constructed with the exception of one scene, a scene which I would have cut out and thrown far away. So as to avoid spoilers, I will identify the scene I hated, as simply "Pink car." The only other change I would have made was to set the white bedroom scene where it belonged, that is in the hell hole and acted out rather than visited and viewed. The story is a beauty, the characters are to die for, the work from all, I say this again the work from ALL the Actors was first class. I cannot recall a film ever where the performances were all quite so equal as they are in 44 inch chest, there is not a dud moment from any one of them. This is the kind of film that will stand up on its back legs in 30 years time as the granddad of a genre all its own. Here theatre is brought closer to film than at any other time.Those who have complained that the film lacks drive and contrast and variety are alongside those who have claimed that it is anti climactic. This says much more about the reviewers than it says about the film, which, by the way, never lacks drama or drive and neither does it end without considerable climax. In fact, it is one of those wonderful stories that nags at you for months after you have finished watching it. I would have given it 9 out of ten but for that one scene.