As a huge fan of brit gangster films, I can say that for a lower budget production that this film is still quite good. If u enjoyed sean bean in essex boys then this is a must see. Bean is frightening in this, from what I know about the brinks mat robbery this film is quite true to the facts. Very good job done by Larry lamb also, the character he is playing in the film was a very brutal and scary man in real life, and that's putting it lightly! SEE THIS SLICE OF BRIT GANGLAND,absolutely worth a view
5 Reviews
Not exactly "Full of Beans"
andirush_uk15 March 2006
This show came to my attention in March 2006, 14 Years after production and 23 Years after the robbery.
The plot itself seems to be a "nothing" if you will. there's just no characters to love, hate or follow, its a very simple "nutshell" job of a story. Beans performance is probably one of the worst I've seen from him in recent memory, lucky enough this did not stop him moving on to finer roles. Mistakes in the continuity of the film are quite often; A Character is seen driving an "X" Reg Nissan Sunny in the setting of 1983. The problem here is, in the UK, Nissan was known as Datsun in 1983, not Nissan. Another continuity problem appears in the house scene of McAvoy. His Child is seen wearing an 1990 England National Team Football Shirt. Without the aid of Doc Brown's DeLorean, how could a child wear a 1990 Football strip, in 1983? Like the continuity problems, the film is dogged by lack of plot and obvious endings. If you work at Brinks-Mat or know McAvoy Personally, I would advise you to watch it. If you don't, well, like the rest of us, save the precious 1 and half hours for something else.
The plot itself seems to be a "nothing" if you will. there's just no characters to love, hate or follow, its a very simple "nutshell" job of a story. Beans performance is probably one of the worst I've seen from him in recent memory, lucky enough this did not stop him moving on to finer roles. Mistakes in the continuity of the film are quite often; A Character is seen driving an "X" Reg Nissan Sunny in the setting of 1983. The problem here is, in the UK, Nissan was known as Datsun in 1983, not Nissan. Another continuity problem appears in the house scene of McAvoy. His Child is seen wearing an 1990 England National Team Football Shirt. Without the aid of Doc Brown's DeLorean, how could a child wear a 1990 Football strip, in 1983? Like the continuity problems, the film is dogged by lack of plot and obvious endings. If you work at Brinks-Mat or know McAvoy Personally, I would advise you to watch it. If you don't, well, like the rest of us, save the precious 1 and half hours for something else.
Not bad at all!
unreasonableboy4 February 2007
I'm shocked that so few people have commented on this movie despite the fact it's available on DVD in Canada and the USA (according to IMDb). It was an ITV made for TV movie first broadcast in 1992 which I also believe has been screened on America's A&E cable network. The fact that the movie is based on the true story of Britains biggest ever bank robbery, a haul of almost 24 million pounds of Gold bullion (about $44 million) way back in 1983 from' Brink's Matt makes it even more surprising.
Fans of Sean Bean will find this a real feast as is does not disappoint playing the psychotic Mickey Mcavoy the mastermind behind the heist. In fact there are a fine cast of British character actors, and to some extent it's a who's who's guide to rouge character actors for British TV. I'd draw attention in particular to Larry Lamb, George Jackos (both Later on in ' Essex Boys' with Bean), and the excellent Trevor Byfield, who is very believable as the real life character of the London underworld Jimmy Kimpton. It's well paced and absorbing at the same time.
I'll not give too much away, nor criticize holes in the plot, or any short comings that it may have. What I will say is that the title of 'fools gold' is appropriate as some times you can just steal too much! Check it out and enjoy!!
Fans of Sean Bean will find this a real feast as is does not disappoint playing the psychotic Mickey Mcavoy the mastermind behind the heist. In fact there are a fine cast of British character actors, and to some extent it's a who's who's guide to rouge character actors for British TV. I'd draw attention in particular to Larry Lamb, George Jackos (both Later on in ' Essex Boys' with Bean), and the excellent Trevor Byfield, who is very believable as the real life character of the London underworld Jimmy Kimpton. It's well paced and absorbing at the same time.
I'll not give too much away, nor criticize holes in the plot, or any short comings that it may have. What I will say is that the title of 'fools gold' is appropriate as some times you can just steal too much! Check it out and enjoy!!
Not as good as some claim...
tabythah12 October 2005
I recently borrowed "Fool's Gold" from the public library here, where I live. Figured it would be something the boyfriend would enjoy. As it looks to be action packed, being a crime drama and all. And to say he really liked it. I on the other hand was amazed at how it was badly made. The production values weren't set very high for this one, I think. The dialog wasn't that bad at most parts, but I have to say the acting wasn't that excellent. I was kinda disappointed on Bean's part, seeing as I enjoyed him so much in "Lord Of The Rings". Even the props in this movie were bad though. The gold didn't look anything like gold, it looked like blocks of wood, badly painted gold. And just some of the scenes, the way it was filmed, especially the robbery itself was poorly done. If you like bad British television, then I would greatly recommend this film. Otherwise, I'd stay away if I were you.
Some kind of UK Brink's Job
searchanddestroy-121 April 2022
Not bad this crime film from UK, and starring the always excellent Sean bean. The real story of a heist pulled in the eighties. The equivalent of what was made about the great train Glasgow London train robbery. Very accurate, though maybe not close to the actual facts, but well made, not lousy, as many other gangster features. There were many TV movies made over the years about real life heists: for instance the one that occured in JFK airport in the sixties and evoked in GOOD FELLAS. There was a TV film about it, a bland film, which I don't remember the title. Back to this one, it is efficient, I repeat,
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