Nostalgic references to late 90s era clothing, phones, vehicles & music. Not amazingly funny but good enough to sit and watch. Actors were good hope to see more of them and reggie.
18 Reviews
Was ok
atowerofdank29 November 2021
A solid comedy film
ethanbresnett26 November 2021
While it is unlikely to blow you away, Pirates is a very solid British comedy, with a good amount of laughs, an enjoyable plot, and some brilliant characters.
It boasts three very engaging and convincing leads, with a strong chemistry that felt authentic. You could really believe that these three characters had been friends for years and the dynamic between them was fun to watch.
The performances were fantastic from all three of them, with the comedic timing and in particular the facial expressions on point.
A good but small collection of supporting characters injected some additional humour into the film which was most welcome.
The plot is perfectly good. Sort of a Superbad / Inbetweeners vibe to the whole thing, but it never felt like it was copying either of those. It was so brilliantly British with its dialogue and sense of humour which I loved. It progresses towards an ultimately predictable end but this film is more about the journey than the destination, and the journey was enjoyable enough.
My only major criticism is that the conflict in the group seemed a little forced and inauthentic. Perhaps something different could have been done here but that's a small gripe.
A solid comedy that's always entertaining even if it doesn't draw out massive laughs.
It boasts three very engaging and convincing leads, with a strong chemistry that felt authentic. You could really believe that these three characters had been friends for years and the dynamic between them was fun to watch.
The performances were fantastic from all three of them, with the comedic timing and in particular the facial expressions on point.
A good but small collection of supporting characters injected some additional humour into the film which was most welcome.
The plot is perfectly good. Sort of a Superbad / Inbetweeners vibe to the whole thing, but it never felt like it was copying either of those. It was so brilliantly British with its dialogue and sense of humour which I loved. It progresses towards an ultimately predictable end but this film is more about the journey than the destination, and the journey was enjoyable enough.
My only major criticism is that the conflict in the group seemed a little forced and inauthentic. Perhaps something different could have been done here but that's a small gripe.
A solid comedy that's always entertaining even if it doesn't draw out massive laughs.
Wholly good-natured and funny in bursts
joker-413 March 2022
Pirates is a turn-of-the-century set comedy that is wholly good-natured and funny in bursts. Three friends aimlessly drive around London in a beater Peugeot. They laugh and listen to booming music. They are young men with a future as broad as the new millennium ahead. What could go wrong?
Pirates is an easy-going comedy with truly fun characters. But what should be a simplistic plot becomes nearly as directionless as the M25.
Writer/director Reggie Yates smashingly captures the kinetic energy of their youthful lifestyle, one that mostly consists of spinning albums and devouring takeaway. Yates perfectly captures that feeling of being young, broke, and powerful. The situational humor the three easily fall into more than makes up for their thick, proprietary slang. Yet amidst the inside jokes and a Jamaican jerk chippy, the true conflict of the story becomes misplaced. Instead, Pirates becomes a base quest for good times. The humorous asides mix with the loud beats of the music, regrettably masking out those necessary beats of drama.
Edusah, Peters, and Elazouar are charming and enjoyable. They deserve to be seen more in this medium.
Pirates is an easy-going comedy with truly fun characters. But what should be a simplistic plot becomes nearly as directionless as the M25.
Writer/director Reggie Yates smashingly captures the kinetic energy of their youthful lifestyle, one that mostly consists of spinning albums and devouring takeaway. Yates perfectly captures that feeling of being young, broke, and powerful. The situational humor the three easily fall into more than makes up for their thick, proprietary slang. Yet amidst the inside jokes and a Jamaican jerk chippy, the true conflict of the story becomes misplaced. Instead, Pirates becomes a base quest for good times. The humorous asides mix with the loud beats of the music, regrettably masking out those necessary beats of drama.
Edusah, Peters, and Elazouar are charming and enjoyable. They deserve to be seen more in this medium.
short & sweet Light-hearted Nostalgic Entertainment
JonnyEB27 February 2022
Light-hearted Nostalgic Entertainment
It was a nice watch ,relatively Easy watching Full of music and References from London around that Era .
This film has a nice look (cinematography, Art Direction ) , and feel (music & editing) about it's really well put together short and sweet and well paced .
A simple plot and Story not what I expected (which isn't a bad thing ) I thought it would Be more about pirate radio &/or incorporate that whole scene but that's what happens when you don't watch the trailer
It's not hilarious & I think sometimes you wish more happened but it's an enjoyable watch and well paced.
It was a nice watch ,relatively Easy watching Full of music and References from London around that Era .
This film has a nice look (cinematography, Art Direction ) , and feel (music & editing) about it's really well put together short and sweet and well paced .
A simple plot and Story not what I expected (which isn't a bad thing ) I thought it would Be more about pirate radio &/or incorporate that whole scene but that's what happens when you don't watch the trailer
It's not hilarious & I think sometimes you wish more happened but it's an enjoyable watch and well paced.
Solid idea, poor execution
Ultra1228223 February 2022
I was 15 at the turn of the millennium so thought this would be a nice homage to the era and an easy watch. Unfortunately the writing let it down. It just wasn't funny. The journey from North London to South London should provide for an epic tale - everyone I know has got a dozen stories from back in the day about this kind of thing, but this one was a bit tame. Tbh the whole thing just seemed like an attempt to cram as many late 90s references as possible with a pure garage cd playing in the background. A missed opportunity.
So Much Potential
TheMarvellous14 February 2022
This could have been great, but the script lets it down. The cinematography is brilliant. The colour grading and edit is fantastic. The story is meh, and the acting could be better. But, for a comedy film, it just wasn't funny.
Bit disappointing
larter_james13 February 2022
1999 New Years Eve MADNESS !!!
onlyoneandy26 February 2022
Poorly executed and clichéd
djadamluber-879556 March 2022
Pirates is what you get if you buy your People Just Do Nothing from wish. If Human Traffic was written by a children's TV presenter and JLS fan, it would be this.
The storyline is fairly basic - a group of mates want to get in to a club night because one of them fancies a girl, and the film just follows their escapades through the evening. The ending is as underwhelming as the rest of the film.
There are a couple of laughs in it but the majority of the humour is clichéd, predictable and at times cringeworthy. A prime example is the moment in a record store when the lead character reads backstreet boys lyrics and everyone in the store cant quite remember the backstreet boys name.
The characters, whilst likeable, are not particularly engaging or believable. Whilst the name Pirates suggests it follows the lives of pirate radio DJs, this is only a minor element to the film. The 90s references again are very clichéd.
The only positive is the soundtrack. The film is full of old school garage anthems, very nostalgic. However, most of the tunes are also in People Just Do Nothing and the Big In Japan film at some point - which is far superior.
Even if you love Garage, give this one a miss.
The storyline is fairly basic - a group of mates want to get in to a club night because one of them fancies a girl, and the film just follows their escapades through the evening. The ending is as underwhelming as the rest of the film.
There are a couple of laughs in it but the majority of the humour is clichéd, predictable and at times cringeworthy. A prime example is the moment in a record store when the lead character reads backstreet boys lyrics and everyone in the store cant quite remember the backstreet boys name.
The characters, whilst likeable, are not particularly engaging or believable. Whilst the name Pirates suggests it follows the lives of pirate radio DJs, this is only a minor element to the film. The 90s references again are very clichéd.
The only positive is the soundtrack. The film is full of old school garage anthems, very nostalgic. However, most of the tunes are also in People Just Do Nothing and the Big In Japan film at some point - which is far superior.
Even if you love Garage, give this one a miss.
Disappointing
Go_For_The_Jugular28 February 2022
I genuinely admire Reggie Yates. All the way from Sunday mornings with Fearne and Dev...to his recent documentaries.
But this was bad. Really bad.
It badly lacked 'polish'. The idea was OK, I guess. Nothing new that hasn't been done before.
Anyway, this came across like it was made by someone that heard about the era from someone...and made a movie about it, without actually being there.
Too much cringe for me...and editing that adds to the cringe.
Sadly, this wasn't the icing on Reggie's cake that I wanted it to be. Over-reliant on the music of the time.
Many better films to watch in this genre.
But this was bad. Really bad.
It badly lacked 'polish'. The idea was OK, I guess. Nothing new that hasn't been done before.
Anyway, this came across like it was made by someone that heard about the era from someone...and made a movie about it, without actually being there.
Too much cringe for me...and editing that adds to the cringe.
Sadly, this wasn't the icing on Reggie's cake that I wanted it to be. Over-reliant on the music of the time.
Many better films to watch in this genre.
Couldnt leave less than 3* for some reason but guve it 2*.
govinda2223 February 2022
Minus all the stars
chris_rowe-881-16882028 May 2023
I saw the trailer for this and was pretty excited about seeing it, I loved the London based films growing up, they don't seem to happen as much anymore so this looked great, then it didn't get the cinema release, eventually popped up on dvd so bought it.
This film is rotten, it's 2 lads who just talk utter nonsense and an idiot boy, it's not clever, well written and none of them could act. The story was literally, get tickets, steal clothes, eat then go to a club, it was so bad. The pirate radio stuff played no really part except giving them an excuse to talk like imbeciles.
Cant tell you how bad this film is, Early 2000s had 20 a year great movies from London. This is a cliched poorly presented mess.
It's so pointless, like zero point, I'd put it as one of the worst films I've ever seen.
This film is rotten, it's 2 lads who just talk utter nonsense and an idiot boy, it's not clever, well written and none of them could act. The story was literally, get tickets, steal clothes, eat then go to a club, it was so bad. The pirate radio stuff played no really part except giving them an excuse to talk like imbeciles.
Cant tell you how bad this film is, Early 2000s had 20 a year great movies from London. This is a cliched poorly presented mess.
It's so pointless, like zero point, I'd put it as one of the worst films I've ever seen.
We from here
bcqppdj12 February 2022
UK Black street slang AWFUL
Ckn485 June 2022
Human Traffic, it is NOT
If you don't talk this kind of language, its like listening to another language.
Its like Trainspotting needed subtitling in the US. Its awful when a UK movie needs subtitling in the UK. Ive Never had a problem with street language but in a movie, it needs to be handled so the movie does NOT become niche, unfortunately, these guys fail miserably.
So a foreign language film that is NOT foreign language where no attention has been made to make it accessible. I suspect outside of the UK, very few will understand it.
The car is at least amusing
Good Filming Good Sound Track The Plot is Boring The Acting is Incomprehensible
Give it a Wide Birth 👎
If you don't talk this kind of language, its like listening to another language.
Its like Trainspotting needed subtitling in the US. Its awful when a UK movie needs subtitling in the UK. Ive Never had a problem with street language but in a movie, it needs to be handled so the movie does NOT become niche, unfortunately, these guys fail miserably.
So a foreign language film that is NOT foreign language where no attention has been made to make it accessible. I suspect outside of the UK, very few will understand it.
The car is at least amusing
Good Filming Good Sound Track The Plot is Boring The Acting is Incomprehensible
Give it a Wide Birth 👎
Disastrous
potus-5691931 December 2023
Wow what a stinker and that being nice.
Poor plot, poor writing, poor acting , really cannot understand how this was given money to be produced, what it a bad bet loss?
Im also very surprised by this film, its a poor showing and being a United Kingdom movie the complete lack of diversity is astonishing, you really wouldnt think this was filmed in the united kingdom, the complete lack of natives is remarkable ... imagine if this was the other way round?
The language is poor and actors really do not have a command of the english language, its actually remarkable shocking.
I would not recommend this to anyone really , best to choose something else.
Poor plot, poor writing, poor acting , really cannot understand how this was given money to be produced, what it a bad bet loss?
Im also very surprised by this film, its a poor showing and being a United Kingdom movie the complete lack of diversity is astonishing, you really wouldnt think this was filmed in the united kingdom, the complete lack of natives is remarkable ... imagine if this was the other way round?
The language is poor and actors really do not have a command of the english language, its actually remarkable shocking.
I would not recommend this to anyone really , best to choose something else.
Beautiful nostalgia 💖
christinasophia-7267727 February 2022
If you're too old or too young you won't understand this movie. But us British 90's babies this was our era and what a beautiful one it was! This movie had me smiling ear to ear the whole way through, took me back to the good old days, really made me want to go back in time and relive it all again, even just for one night! Reggie you done a wonderful job in bringing back some of the golden moments of our younger years and I truly appreciate you for this one!! 10/10 <3.
Top Tunes
natalyaa-9717228 March 2022
Hail to the Snail!
ed-wenn-699-6914356 November 2022
I went to see this last night with my wife & son. We're in our 50s, my son is 15. We all LOVED it & laughed along with the rest of the audience for the duration. I'm astonished by the negative reviews here with people seemingly getting hung up on the People Just Do Nothing comparisons. What's wrong with having both? Cheer up, people.
The laughs came thick & fast, the film looked great, the characters had chemistry & the acting was brilliant.
There have been a few reviews mentioning a journey from North London to South London, or a journey in general, but it was really more a case of them taking lots of shirts trips around North London. I really don't think there was much of a journey element in this to be disappointed by; if anything this is more of a zig zag film. Really though, who drives arrived London anyway? It's a nightmare.
Garage is SO not my thing, so I may have missed some aspects that would annoy the purists, but as an outsider looking back & in, this was a total joy.
The laughs came thick & fast, the film looked great, the characters had chemistry & the acting was brilliant.
There have been a few reviews mentioning a journey from North London to South London, or a journey in general, but it was really more a case of them taking lots of shirts trips around North London. I really don't think there was much of a journey element in this to be disappointed by; if anything this is more of a zig zag film. Really though, who drives arrived London anyway? It's a nightmare.
Garage is SO not my thing, so I may have missed some aspects that would annoy the purists, but as an outsider looking back & in, this was a total joy.
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