London's Finest (2014) User Reviews

Crazy with a witty script! 4/10

[leonblackwood · 4/10 · 18 April 2015]

Review: I thought that was going to be your typical English gangster movie with the usual elements, but I quite enjoyed this crazy crime caper, even though they have to be some of the dumbest criminals in East London. Its about a drug dealer called Sirus who is wanted by a crooked cop who arrests his best friend (Asif) and blackmails him to go undercover so they can take-down Sirus in his next big drug deal with some Welsh Jamaicans. The cops plans end up going completely wrong because the Jamaicans are heavily armed so they hire some crazy, heroin taking thugs who try to help them get the shipment of drugs. Anyway, after a while the small time drug dealer ends up fighting for his life with the help from the Jamaicans who strike a deal to keep the shipment if they get them out alive. The plot was crazy and the characters, who were mostly heroin users, seemed to love being in the middle of East London in a big shoot out. The only person that seemed slightly scared of the whole situation was Sirus who didn't really know how to handle a gun at before they started to get shot at. I must admit, I did enjoy the crazy Welsh Jamaicans, even though I didn't know what they were saying half of the time, but it did get a bit silly after a while. Its better than a lot of the English gangster movies that I have seen lately because of the witty script and the amount of guns they use throughout the film but it isn't as good as Guy Ritchies earlier work and it did seem a bit far fetched. Watchable!

Round-Up: I haven't seen any of these characters before, so I can't really comment on them as actors, but they did put in good performances which made the film watchable. It really did seem like the director used all of the stereotypical aspects of the different nations in this film, like the crazy meat head Eastern Europeans who just wanted to kill any and everyone and the Welsh Jamaicans who had a heavy artillery and new everything about guns. Personally, thats what made me laugh about the movie and then fact that no one really feared for there life but Sirus. The corrupt racist cops and the Asian drug dealers were other aspects the storyline which made it quite interesting and the non-stop craziness was put together well by the director. Anyway, it's worth a watch if you want to see a film about a load of Heroin addicts and corrupt cops fighting against each other but don't expect anything with morality or a deep and meaningful storyline.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their English crime capers about a drug dealer who is on the run from corrupt cops who want his stash. 4/10

VERY Old bullsh*t!

[jjpmonty-898-645629 · 5/10 · 7 May 2015]

I'm giving it 5 from 10 simply because it's from my old life and it's good to see some representation(wow, apparently that's a proper word. Plot circuit in a courier office in east London my ARSE. The main "character" and his 'colleagues' display an unbelievable level of ineptitude and do not convey any "plot" courier circuit in London, England. I am okay with some scope for messing about (dramatic license,etc). But, the main character would not be allowed near any real 'plot' circuit that has EVER existed in an east,west,north or south London office(unless the owner liked magic mushrooms more than money which is highly unlikely).It's is just sh*t that actually sort of but didn't really happen 20 years ago and it doesn't qualify as a "Movie" or work on any level. Good effort but must try harder. What about what the REAL characters that work the courier circuit, shame you don't know who they are or how their lives outweigh this tosh.

Dull, pretentious and predictable make a boring film

[musicreporter-1 · 1/10 · 22 December 2017]

It looked promising at the outset but 20 minutes in and it was plainly obvious all the hackneyed stereotypes were here in full bloom - tired plot, cardboard characters, generic dialogue. There was a little potential shining at the first, but it quickly dissipated. We entertained ourselves by predicting the dialogue and the plot moves with pretty good accuracy! The characters were so shallow and undersketched, we didn't care about any of them - instantly forgettable - despite their desperate moves to be cool and hip. Those old tired cliches ran overtime here - you know - where the cool rock music blares loudly on and the action goes into slow-mo anytime the "good guys" are on. Not sure how we got to the end of the film - but toward the end a buddy asked, - "what happened to the knitcap wearing guy?" - and we all laughed when I answered, "does it really f*** matter?" As someone else here also noted - ignore the obvious film staff reviews here - all plants. You just can't trust any reviews here in IMDB anymore.

Overall this film is just like it's AKA title "Hackney's Finest" - it's the true definition of hackneyed - "lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite."

In a nutshell - empty, predictable and boring.

Finest? Now that's irony........

[FlashCallahan · 2/10 · 19 April 2015]

The East London borough of Hackney is rife with greed, corruption, bad acting, and the fight for survival.

Sirus likes to make a little extra cash on the side, but not legally. Very occasionally, he passes a small 'package' from his London supplier, Asif, to small-time Welsh-Jamaican gangsters.

The latest deal is is to happen in Sirus's home, much to the annoyance of girlfriend, Amanda. But things are about to go wrong.

When the Welsh boys arrives, they are horrified to discover that Asif has been interrogated by the police, and coerced into going through with the deal, under watch by two lawmen straight from the seventies........

It's Brit gangster straight to DVD movie number 257 for 2015, and this time, the horrid sub genre has reached a new low.

As usual, it's amateur hour for all concerned, as we get the stereotypes that have existed more and more since the advent of Ritchie and Nick Love. Obviously the main character, Sirus, narrates the whole ordeal, and then we have the bent coppers, ridiculously over the top, the mates from the valleys, who had the potential to be something quite interesting, but never evolve to anything more than gun pointing onlookers.

And before you know it, the film turns into one big, boring warehouse siege, with one policeman outside talking like he's a bit tasty to our 'heroes' in the warehouse, who in turn, have his partner as hostage.

And just as things couldn't get any more incoherent for you, we are treated to some non- specific European thugs who are on the payroll, and guess what? The group have no way out.

It's honestly as boring as it sounds, and I'm becoming more and more intolerant of these sort of movies, the more I watch them, but, every now and again, we get a little gem, like We Still Kill The Old Way, so it's just about worth trudging through abhorrent, Insufferable messes like this, but the gems are increasingly becoming few and far between.

It's badly acted,badly written, and it just looks poor, and it feels longer than Lawrence Of Arabia, despite it being less than Ninety minutes.

Do yourself a favour, ignore positive reviews of this film,they are obviously plants, and do something more worthwhile, like ironing your socks.

Like another bad Gangster film I reviewed earlier this year, I wonder how long it'll be before the director adds me as a friend on Facebook?

Ignore this even exists....

Nonsense storytelling

[Low_Rent · 2/10 · 3 December 2017]

While I enjoy a good "shoot-em-up" movie just as much as the next person, this movie made me regret watching it. The writer is lazy with the story. Sirrus gets in way over his head but seems to handle everything he encounters. So much so that despite all the shooting and even grenades, he comes out of his experience with barely a scratch. In fact, everyone in his little group ends up with no injuries. Nothing. Seriously, not even a scratch despite all the violence.

The writer seems to think that it is a good idea to have the worlds most incompetent gangsters and cops as the "bad guys". But if they are as stupid as the movie portrays how did they make it as far as they did? Makes no sense. It was frustrating to watch Sirrus and his group make it through each encounter with very little happen to them all the while defeating everyone they come across. Just lazy storytelling.

Also, the acting is sub-par with the exception of Enoch Frost and Marlon Day. They at least have some acting ability.

Do yourself a favor, avoid this lousy movie.

One Night In Smackney

[LeeVanQueef · 7/10 · 23 April 2015]

Normally I wouldn't stoop to reviewing or even watching one of the endless glut of embarrassingly poor mockney gangster romps that have tainted the British film industry ever since Guy Ritchie decided to give birth to said genre, but in this case, given the believable authenticity and blindingly scripted nature of said venture; I'll make an exception. Smack is the drug of choice in this tale, and likable user Cyrus plays the doped up protagonist finding himself on the receiving end of a particularly vicious and shamelessly corrupt detective looking to manipulate him into delivering a mammoth stash of brown. Fortunately Cyrus has sterling backup in the form of a pair of welsh gangsters who provide a wealth of snappy dialogue and brutish ballistics. Adding to the comedic energy are an equally deranged mob of Russians who the detective calls in to balance the odds. Every other character has their own podium of eccentricity on which to shine, and grimily they do. Naturally, there is foul language aplenty, but deployed in all the right places for a change, and the frequent incidents of gunplay are air- punchingly superb.

Bonkers script, slick direction, fun.

[dixyfifi · 8/10 · 9 April 2015]

Following in the footsteps of a Great British love affair with heist and gangster movie, Hackney Finest hits the bullseye.

The grim story is seasoned by just the right amount of (dark) humour. In this regard, it definitely echoes some of Guy Richie or Tarantino's moments of brilliance.

The characters are, if not lovable, definitely charismatic. The eastern European gangsters are just as hilarious as they are scary.

Hackney Finest is not trying to revolutionise the genre: it embraces it, and definitely delivers.

Another side thing I liked, especially in regards to the current attitude of "spoiling trailers", is that Hackney's Finest trailer stays true to the spirit of film without giving away the very best bits. Refreshing

WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 29 September 2018]

In this film the cops are the bad guys and Afghan heroin dealers are the good guys. Priestly (Arin Alldridge) is an East End dirty cop who wants to take down Sirus (Nathanael Wiseman) a bumbling heroin dealer/user. Yes in this film the heroin dealers are are also big time users which makes for some comedic moments. Priestly is doing this for private gain and utilizes the Russian drug dealers to assist. The Russians are equally inept.

The film is not a strong comedy, but has those moments that are funny after you think about it for a second. There is a good amount of action and blood splatter toward the end. Worth a view for British crime fans.

Guide; F-bomb. Sex. No nudity.

A film which shocks and has some cracking one liners!

[pawsinhand · 9/10 · 16 April 2015]

It is really great to see a British independent movie, we get so few British films these days and this one has some gloss. Although I heard this was quite a low budget film, at no time does it give the impression there was a budget. The film is slick and glossy, some really great stunts and was very polished. I loved the way the characters were introduced at the beginning of the film, really nice directing. This is not your run of the mill action movie. Parts of this film are shocking reminding me of how I felt when I first watched Train Spotting. There are some really graphic images but presented in a comedic way. It shouldn't have worked but it did, I found myself laughing and then felt guilty. The cast has been well selected for the characters they play. Great characterisation! I personally loved the Russian gangsters. Evil as they are I couldn't help laughing and even liking the leader of the Russian gang. The Welsh "Yardies" are very entertaining and added humour to the film but equally they looked the part. The story line has a good pace and some cracking one liners. Some great location shooting giving this film a really gritty and realistic edge. Might need to provide ear muffs for the over 50's (language a bit ripe for me but to be fair the language was used in a humorous way so , after the initial shock I accepted it and felt it added to the atmosphere. Would make a great film to watch in a group over pizza and some beers! Would be good to see a sequel to this.

Very enjoyable

[robbie-77438 · 9/10 · 18 April 2015]

Very much enjoyed the movie. It kept me thinking and made me laugh. The characters all worked well and the movie delivered what it said it would on the cover. Hats off to the film makers and cast cos they have made something very enjoyable and credible. More power to them all. It's great when a film allows you to get lost in another world and wonder what's going to happen next while making you laugh at different times too. I look forward to seeing future work from people who made the film as I found their work authentic and well crafted. They certainly have a lot of potential to go to greater heights and I look forward to seeing that arc in their careers.

Great earthy movie

[aartishah · 10/10 · 16 April 2015]

Makes a nice change to movies out at the moment. This is a current, funny and slightly crazy (fun) movie and great for a night in and a pizza.

There aren't many movies made with such a combination of humour, gangs, drugs, bikes etc Great acting and funny characters with good music.

Would totally recommend to those who like Brit flicks. There's also an air of mystery with the movie with some unanswered story lines (pari) which is cook. Great chemistry between the actors Will look out for these actors in other productions Also like the lighting in the movie These movies can often be too dark which then becomes unpleasant

Drugs, Guns, Dirty Cops, Welsh Yardies and melons.

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 8/10 · 2 May 2015]

This is a strange hybrid of a film; on one hand it is quite a brutal London gang, drug and crime tale - with shooters. On the other it is actually quite a well realised dark comedy. I decided to suspend belief for ninety minutes and see what happened.

It is all about Sirus who is a mini cab controller, a seemingly nice guy and a drug dealer. He sells some of his gear to Welsh Yardies who drive up from the valleys for their stuff . There is also a particularly nasty cop - Priestly who is more rotten than a South American Junta, but also has a way with words that is both profane and actually very amusing. I would not want a parking ticket from him. He is on to Sirus and does not use the rule book in any way that a normal cop would recognise.

There is also 'casual racism' which may cause offence even where done for laughs, there is some graphic depictions of violence and there is a lot of shooting. Despite the plot errors and some less than savoury scenes I still found myself laughing and getting completely involved with all the characters. There is also a gang of stereotyped Russian meat heads who were all brilliant - even down to personalised phone rings. All in all this was ninety minutes that just flew by, and as such I wish I had seen this sooner.

Welsh-Jamacan Drug Lords V.s Herion Addicted Russian Assassins? WTF?!? THIS, I GOTTA SEE!

[actormckinley · 10/10 · 3 April 2015]

In a post lock stock world, gangster films have come thick and fast, with varying degrees of quality and success. Launching many careers and made household names of some of its stars.

So, in a genre some could argue has run dry, it was really fantastic to come across a gangster film not about 'Diamond Geezers' just being East end hard-men. Don't get me wrong, I love that stuff, but as a fan of the genre, I was surprised to come across Hackey's Finest. Sporting a multiracial cast of characters that was a nice change for this viewer.

Kudos to the writer for writing a script that has a really nice up and down quality to it. it never lagged and had some great laugh out loud funny moments both in terms of action and some awesome back and forth between the characters (the Russians and Jamacans were hilarious, and while you know you shouldn't really like these characters, you just can't help it) while, rather deftly, the story then turning a corner and walking the audience right into some strong drama with the other great leads.

The director has really done a really nice job here, crafting a fine blend of action, black comedy and pathos. Films usually stand or fall when dealing with a group, team or multiple characters. when every character doesn't get their moment in the sun or even screen time enough to be memorable. I'm happy to say this film doesn't suffer in that regard.

Because of the writer, director and of course the impressively talented cast, whom acquit themselves well, every character has chance to be funny, dramatic and have a strong, meaningful impact on the story, and as I've said, it's great to see a multi ethnic cast of actors in a film like this. There really is a lot to like about this movie.

It even has a great Marvel-Esque mid-credits funny scene, so don't leave the theatre when the credits roll...!

So not a dull note was hit. It has all the hallmarks of the gangster film. Just never like this, and for that it totally surprised me. The soundtrack is totally bad-ass too!. Great fun. Great movie. SEE IT!

I'd love to see these characters again. SEQUEL PLEASE!

A cracking little movie - well worth a watch

[antonlang · 9/10 · 12 May 2015]

I thoroughly enjoyed this, as will anyone who loves the hoodlum / gangster / drug dealing gone wrong / bent copper / London geezers genre.

It is like an updated Lock, Stock; but with a darker edge and some really believable, and nasty, characters.

Arin Allridge is great as the main bent copper and steals the show.

The two black, Welsh dudes with shooters a plenty provide a mirthful comic aspect.

The London presented appears very empty, but this is an independent movie, and probably could not cope with many extras - and, as it is set through the night, this desolation helps with the tone of the film.

SO: Put your feet up.

Crack open a can of fizzy.

Sit back.

Have 90 minutes of fun.

Homage to Guy Ritchie

[benlindley-45835 · 8/10 · 13 December 2019]

Great film! Dark in the right places, comical at the right time. Characters well planned. Perfect amount of plot surprise. A lot of the film reminded me of Snatch.

A right British, uber-violent, mishap comedy.

[sensibleaddress · 8/10 · 4 September 2017]

In the gritty, swarming, multicultural streets of London, a dealer's regular day goes down the loo in a high-paced, quick-witted barrage of bullets. I most loved the Jamacian-Welsh bad boys Tony and B, with their mix of comic relief and their bad-ass moves. Watch out for Jane's tension-blitzer moments. Was surprisingly moved by what the character Asif brought to the story. Recommended.