Leofwine_draca THE RISE is a would-be British crime thriller set on the grim streets of Leeds. The Northern setting is a good one, allowing for a touch of originality in the locales and some interesting accents, but otherwise it's business as usual for this low budget production. An ex-con decides to pull off one last heist with the aid of his buddies and decides to go up against a crime boss, both to make a fortune and get his own back on the man who sent him to prison in the first place.There's a fair bit to like in this film, not least the naturalistic performances from a trio of young stars. Luke Treadaway (ATTACK THE BLOCK) is the lead and Matthew Lewis (HARRY POTTER) and Iwan Rheon (GAME OF THRONES) his ne'er do well buddies. In addition, we get a world-weary Timothy Spall as a cop whose wraparound story structures the plot, and Neil Maskell (KILL LIST) in his nastiest turn yet as the villain of the piece; both are more than effective.The shooting style is good, the acting grounded, and there are plenty of novel twists and turns in the narrative. A shame, then, that this film isn't as good as it thinks it is and that the whole is a lot weaker than the sum of its parts. The script mistakes expletives for wit, and all of the characters are as cold as can be, which robs the movie of much of its suspense - how can you be immersed in the proceedings when you don't care whether the leads live or die? THE RISE is also a slow burner, which as a filming technique is fine when there's a build-up to something worthwhile, but the actual heist is a disappointment and a huge anticlimax when it comes down to it. This film's okay, but hardly the stuff of greatness that reviews would have you believe...

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningHarvey (Luke Treadaway) is a bright boy with his head screwed on, who has just been released from prison after being framed for drug dealing by the villainous Roper (Neil Maskell), who was none too pleased that Harvey got shacked up with his ex, Nicola (Vanessa Kirby.) But now he finds himself in an interview room with D.I. West (Timothy Spall), relaying the tale of how he and his friends planned to break in to a run down working men's club and steal Roper's ill-gotten gains from a secure safe located in there, only for things not to work out quite how they seemed.Something gave me the impression on first glance that this little seen, independent crime flick was set south side, expecting a typical smattering of the usual cockney lingo and rhyming slang, only to get a surprise and find it set north of the border, which allowed for no such stereotypes. And so this debut feature length production from director Rowan Athale seeks desperately to break the typical conventions of the genre, a modest budget offering with aspirations above it's station, which despite being a little messy in it's execution and possibly even a little over ambitious, is still impressively intelligent and complex, and could actually stand to a second viewing just to make sense of it all.Coming from the plot point of two men talking in a room, it's a dialogue driven film, and it's striving for a Tarantino style of execution and delivery, which it manages with a sense of fluency and eloquence. It's intelligent and well written, but not exactly a realistic depiction of how nefarious types of this background and age group would probably speak. At points it all feels a bit heavy and over bearing, and is a little disconcerting as a result. Still, you can't fault it's ambition, and it's carried out with aplomb by lead stars Treadaway, Maskell and veteran Spall. While it can't help but project a messy, convoluted sort of feel, it's lying in the gutter but aiming for the stars, a low grade thriller with ambition and intelligence to set it that little bit above the rest. ***

Rodrigo Amaro A sad case of a fine movie that could've been a great contender at the box office but didn't all that much due to studio or producers pushing back its release time and time again. First, it was called "Wasteland" (great title and as I call the film) than delayed for whatever reasons, later on submitted as "The Rise", perhaps as a way to attract more viewers. Not sure if succeed in that. It will have a decent life in the video market because everybody loves a good thriller and "Wasteland" is one of the most solid and gripping Brit thrillers of the season.The criminal drama (with fun bits of humor) has two fronts: a injured man retells to a detective (Timothy Spall) all the events that led him there in that deposition room. The man in question is Harvey (Luke Treadaway), a criminal recently released from jail after spending six months due to a set up from his boss. Harvey's plan is to gather his mates (Iwan Rheon, Matthew Lewis and Gerard Kearns), rob the local casino commanded by his former boss and move to Netherlands, where they can leave the life of crimes behind and settle down as being coffee shop owners. Not that simple since the other members of the group are more frightened of the robbery's positive outcome (to leave a lousy place they love and move to a place they don't know) than the robbery itself and the chance of facing dangerous types, people who they worked for; and Harvey also trying to get back to the girl he loves and who might not approve his plans.Simple is safe, and "Wasteland" benefits from that. It's a simple plot, apparently complicated with its flashbacks back and forth and many puzzling plot twists, but it's very simple in the core. Lacks in action but it's more involving than anything I can think of; the romance bits are tolerable; the dialogs are good but nothing so grandiose; the humor is excellent, consisting mostly of moments with the group mocking Harvey's time in prison. But we're there for a good drama we can easily relate in a way and the powerful and excellent chemistry between the gang formed by some of the finest and young UK stars, people who truly deserve credit even if you don't know their names.My theory on why this was overlooked and once again has to do with the delays and title change: by the time the movie was being made, they had a relatively unknown actor who in between early screenings and the whole change of market, suddenly got a little more famous with heavy repercussion on a play he got great reviews and several awards, and that was Luke Treadaway. The first trailer was a indicative that the focus was on the group, when in fact the focus is on Harvey. I don't think the producers were wrong in "selling" the actor, a reliable performer by the way, but they got wrong in postponing it several times and the new title doesn't sound appealing. "Wasteland" or "The Rise", in the end, it's an exciting, edgy and offers plenty of good moments. 9/10

madrichc This film is every thing you could want: from a comedy or revenge thriller to a road or buddy flick with a good old heist movie thrown in for good measure too. 1 hour and 45ish minutes of your life well spent.It's British movie making at it's best and the first time writer/director has done a stellar job. Top class acting from a first class line up of outstanding British talent, that most of you around the world won't have heard of (except for Timothy Spall probably.) The pace is fast and the dialogue witty with many a twist to keep you enthralled throughout.I could babble on for hours about how much me and my better half enjoyed it and why you should watch it but just go rent it and see for yourself, then make up your own minds. I for one look forward to this directors' next piece and hope he is not a one hit wonder.