Once Upon a Time in London (2019) User Reviews

Disappointing

[les-74218 · 4/10 · 26 April 2019]

Obvious low budget, poorly edited and dis- jointed. If you take the violence out there's nothing else to see.

Terry Stone was as reliable as ever but sorry this Wasn't even average.

Continuity of scenes please

[kilofunker · 5/10 · 23 April 2019]

This could have been so much better why on earth do they not hire a decent continuity director. It's so fractious and chops from scene to scene with little explanation. It's like they left a quarter of it on cutting floor what a pity

Great skill sabotaged by writing

[grenfern · 5/10 · 11 October 2019]

Acting and photography in this flick is a very high standard. Dark but lovely and polished. All this counts for nothing though as it's let down by a story that's so disjointed you realise you stopped caring earlier on. The first part of the film I thought was a clever use of some cool cinematic style of weaving stories together. If I put the effort in to keep track, it would pay off as the film went on. But no. There's no story, just things that happen. It's full of pointless dead end scenes. Gangster one beats up gangster two who then beats up gangster one etc and on occasion a random moll appears and disappears. No character background or development either. They start off bad and, well, stay bad and carry on doing things that they did at the start of the film. Two hours....two hours of my life!! I suppose I'm optimistic and waited for that "ah, I get it" moment that was never going to come.

More fake ratings

[tadaia · 3/10 · 3 June 2019]

IMDB is sadly becoming known for fake ratings. This film is one big bag of gangster film cliches from one scene to the next. It lacks a compelling story (which is a shame considering it's based on real gangsters) and I could care less about the main characters. Don't waste your time with this. Stick to football hooligan or Guy Ritchie flicks if you want to see a halfway entertaining film about English gangsters.

Not Another British Gangster Film

[VanBooter · 7/10 · 20 April 2019]

I must admit to having a liking for the Gangster genre, but having seen quite a few turkeys from the UK I very nearly avoided this one. I think the last real dog of a film was The Krays: Dead Man Walking (2018) which I rated a 1/10 and boy that dreck of a film wasn't even worth that. This one however starts off with an intro which gives you the impression this is going to be good, with old news reel images and the characters super imposed over them I was drawn in. But then the film starts and any high hopes suddenly vanish expectations are now a B- C+ However don't skip through it like I nearly did, This is a really good and well put together film. The menace of the Krays appear at the end, their time is just starting, but anyway I do recommend you watch it. I would rate it a B+ A- 7/10

What a mess

[Ray3100 · 1/10 · 22 April 2020]

You know that feeling when you come into a movie late and only see the last 2/3rds of it and you never really can figure out what is going on? Well, that's what this is like right for the start. And it never gets better. Just one screen jump after another without context, without explanation. It was like watching a collection of gangster bloopers on YouTube.

No bad not great.

[stircrazysos · 6/10 · 1 May 2019]

Billy Hill is a forgotten legend. This film doesn't do him justice. His achievements as a gangster were unsurpassed. Post office robbery, gold bullion robbery diamond mining in SA. Plus he was one that got out at the right time. Film doesn't go deep enough. Just to much knifing and fighting. Billy, Jack and Albert were intelligent crooks. That used their environment to earn. Billy Hill book is a lot better than this bubble gum.

Mediocre at best

[alx_bu · 4/10 · 20 May 2019]

I was trying to understand how this movie got such a high rating, and can't. Math doesn't seem to add up! Movie itself was "bleah". Wasted time.

British Brutality

[iquine · 24 December 2020]

(Flash Review)

Another one of those "once upon a time" movie titles. This is a story of the reign of the London underworld crime bosses and their hard as nails influences; Billy Hill and Jack 'Spot' Comer. I had to abandon this one. There is an abundance of physical punching and beating in this. THEN it gets creative with slashing, biting, broken glass stabbing, darts thrown into defenseless people's faces, someone had an ear hacked off and who knows where to next. That was 45 min in. A raw and brutal onslaught without enough plot to offset it.

Well above average!

[phil-philcool-marsden · 7/10 · 5 May 2019]

From the boys that brought us Rise of the Footsoldier O.U.A.T.I.L is a quality British gangster movie & unlike most so called true stories this is actually based on real events in fact if you read Jack Spot & Billy Hills autobiographies this film is spot on! So don't believe other reviews that say "its confused" or "it doesn't know what kind of a movie its trying to be", just kick back & enjoy a good gangster flick sure its not Goodfellas but then again its not trying to be

How did this get 6.6 stars?

[alex-kedzlie · 1/10 · 17 October 2019]

Absolute rubbish. Poor acting, poor script and stupid story. Hoped for better after reading the top reviews but think they must be friends of the actors or paid reviewers. Don't waste your time you'll never get it back.

A good gangster flick

[d-ramseeey · 8/10 · 21 August 2019]

I don't watch many Uk films but this was pretty good I thought. Good cast and the acting was great. Worth a watch if your into gangster movies!

It could have been better

[mannyl94 · 7/10 · 30 August 2019]

I thought it was decent but could have been better. It got a little boring mid-way wish they had a little more to give us as it fell a little flat but the movie is still good. Looking forward to the next one, hopefully more action, shooting and a stronger script.

Confused and falls Short

[durban555-153-363632 · 3/10 · 22 April 2019]

This had such potential....good acting and a decent script. However this is a very disjointed and confused adaptation. Cinematography is bleak and lighting is depressing. The musical interludes were awkward and have no gravity.

Watchable, but only just.

Originally was an IMDB 9 point something rating...

[makiru220419 · 1/10 · 22 April 2019]

Watched it on the pretext of the initially high IMDB rating and was just amazed how really poor the production was. Majority of the time the scenes were dimly lit, the acting from all those concerned were a bit wooden and you could see that the supporting cast of extras were REALLY acting (they seemed embarrassed to be there...).

The storyline appeared to be one punch up from start to finish, interspersed with people talking just before a punch up.

An easy film to miss, do some decorating instead, the time will be better used.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

[weavethehawk · 7 June 2020]

One knew this was bad even before the line "Who's the king of the underworld". The script is awful, the music is putrid and the entire production is not worth the time. I got most of the way through it but had to give up when the immortal "who's the king of the underworld" was uttered again. Thoroughly bad.

Entertaining

[justin-oxford · 7/10 · 26 August 2019]

This film is no joke! A real dark portrayal of back in the day times of London's Underworld. It was entertaining and they had some really good actors in this. For me the plot got a little lost midway but it had enough to watch with all the action and drama, worth a rent still.

Just awful

[saraoxley · 1/10 · 15 June 2019]

Terrible script, acting, camera work! Do not watch

London gangster film with a twist

[wbafanclub12 · 6/10 · 23 October 2019]

Well, it's safe to say that if you enjoy the films like football factory, green street, rise of the foot soldier, and other films of this genre, then you will get something out of this. The film is set in London around WW2 times, and concentrates on the gangs consoling the areas. The 'stars' are the same old recycled favourites from these films, but with a twist that they play old-fashioned gents. But the violence is still the same, if anything a bit more bloodied. The usual people have trouble with the other usual people which leads to the usual conflicts. The only and main problem, is that the storyline is disjointed and therefore hard to follow. A main positive is that the 'actor's actually show more skill at acting, having to behave like old time villains. It's by no means a masterpiece, but is one of the better more recent London gangster films to come out, most of which are poor. A decent half an hour's entertainment..

More fake ratings .....

[david-d-dunlop · 1/10 · 22 April 2019]

.... it has to be?!

This film was so bad .... not even straight to video quality. Awful.

Once seen..but not again

[bryangary65 · 6/10 · 18 October 2019]

This is no "Once Upon A Time in America "!

Poor acting with no likeable characters at all.

Couldn't Follow It

[isantistao · 3/10 · 28 April 2020]

This movie was very hard to follow. The way it is put together lacks structure and continuity. It is often hard to tell what is going on and why, especially when the scenes change. There's no narration or sense of coherence tying the story together. One group is supposed to be jewish and one italian, but it is confusing as to who is who. And there is no sense of who the main character is supposed to be, or character development for any of them, which leaves you not only not feeling like you know who any of the characters are, but not caring about them. The story telling is just completely off and lacking. After less than 40 minutes I didn't see the point in continuing to watch it.

Great story telling

[tomkinsrachael · 8/10 · 21 April 2019]

An untold story to the beginnings of the London underground. The script was well paced and kept interest but it was strength of the cast that made this work. It's very apparent that there was a limited budget but don't let that stop you from watching this film. A good watch.

An entertainingly visceral Brit-crime actioner that certainly doesn't pull any punches!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 9 August 2022]

I have long been an avid fan/collector of lurid gangster flicks, and Simon Rumley's vividly rendered true crime biopic about the exceptionally bloody rise and fall of infamous London thugs Jack 'Spot' Comer, and his cunning, and no less ambitious adversary Billy Hill is a mean-spirited, unflinchingly brutal expose of these two notoriously vicious gangsters fight to be the reigning king of London's shadowy, pitilessly unforgiving underworld. The tremendously exciting 'Once Upon a Time in London' is an entertainingly visceral Brit-crime actioner that certainly doesn't pull any punches! Familiar faces Lou Gregory and 'Rise of The Footsoldier' legend Terry Stone are wholly convincing as mercenary, power hungry hoods on the make. The female roles prove undernourished, as are the peripheral rent-a-thug characters, sadly making very little impact, with the gorgeously grisly exception of Roland Manookian's deliciously twisted turn as sociopathic nutter Frankie Fraser who playfully dispenses his dart delivered devilry with a laudable relish! While the narrative frequently feels rushed, leaping arbitrarily from one event to another, playing havoc with continuity, the enjoyably muscular performances, relentless razor-slashing savagery and exceptionally fine score by Richard Chester adds considerable lustre to Rumley's gritty underworld opus. Fans of 'St. Georges Day', and 'We Still Kill The Old Way' should enjoy the film's equally scrappy theatrics.

Not worth watching

[robertjgray · 1/10 · 12 January 2021]

This film is completely disjointed and edited in a way that leaves you confused and unsure of what's going on.

Although the acting isn't overly bad in general, in some places it is just cringe-worthy.

Some of music choices are bizarre and poorly executed or just inappropriate for the scene in which they are playing over.

Don't waste your time.