kosmasp The British gangster film has been rising since a guy called ... Guy R. made his mark on that particular "genre" (or sub-genre or whatever you wanna call it). But while "Lock, Stock ..." and "Snatch" were somewhat original, this feels very formulaic. It's not so much the actors (though Mr. Dyer seems not to have a lot to do in this one or Tamers "woman", who only gets to get her kink on in some scenes), but the fact that you do know where this is going ... long before it gets there.Now this isn't always entirely bad. But it would have been really good if the characters were better drawn. And I'm not only talking about the main characters, but also the supporting cast. They mostly stay bland, while they fail to be remarkable, not leaving any kind of impression you will remember after a few minutes.Still and especially for fans, this will be somewhat satisfying and it moves along quite nicely, even if a few things feel forced (like the "twist(s)") towards the end of the movie.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Nick (Tamer Hassan) is trying to put his criminal past behind him and start up a successful travel agents. But he's in money worries getting it off the ground and even worse American gangster Mr. Thigo (50 Cent) has arrived in London and Nick owes him quite a bit of money. And just to remind him, Thigo takes his mother hostage and gives him twenty four hours to find the cash he owes him...or she dies. And so, with the assistance of his quirky business partner Bing (Danny Dyer) he begins a mad dash around the capital and even up north getting into scrapes involving underworld kingpins, motorway police and the lowest of the criminal underworld.This latest addition to the Brit gangster flick came out of nowhere but looked rather slick and stylish, not to mention having the surprise inclusion of well known rap icon 50 Cent in the cast. Alas, it looks really cheap and awful, shot with a murky camera lens through out that brings it down a peg or two. But that's not the main thing wrong with Dead Man Running, a vapid, empty affair that fails to be thrilling or funny in any way. Even a lively supporting cast in the shape of Brenda Blethyn, Phillip Davis, Scot Williams and Ashley Walters can't bring it to life, plenty of material to go on but failing to strike a chord with any of it. As for lead stars Dyer and Hassan, they've worked well together before, but it would seem they fall apart without Nick Love to guide them. *

missapril75 Well I enjoyed it. It was just good fun and made me smile several times. I'm unfamiliar with the two leads so I'm not fed up of them. Brenda Blethyn was terrific as usual.The soundtrack was quite good too and I enjoyed the contrast when the classical piece took over.Not sure the 'kill' would have been so clean with a sawn off shotgun. I thought they made a bigger mess than that."This movie even has big football movie connections it was funded by non other than Rio Ferdinand...that's right I said that huge football star Rio ferdanando..or something like that." He's England Captain and plays for One of the World's Biggest clubs. I think that qualifies as pretty big.

darrbarker This is very poor indeed. I read that two premiership footballers had gone fifty fifty on the budget of £2.5m pounds. None of that ends up on the screen, and perhaps there is a perverse sense of justice, for want of a better word – presumably everyone involved in this production took their lead from the two financiers, by putting themselves on massive salaries. How else can you explain where the money went ?! Over ten years ago, with Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie did this kind of film so much better, on a fraction of the budget.Danny Dyer's declining career takes another dive her – they've cast him as the comedy sidekick, but failed to give him any material to work with. Hassan, in his first lead role, is one of the film's few bright points but he struggles to stand out. It is frustrating to see talented British actors like Brenda Blethyn and Phil Davis appear in this kind of product. American rapper 50 Cent is as bad as other reviews have pointed out. The plot is very Guy Ritchie-esquire, but fails on just about every level and tedium kicks in at the half way point. The action is poorly staged. An underground bare knuckle fight scene is edited so badly its laughable. A hulking bodybuilder with no dialogue, save for a few grunts, takes on Hassan in a hastily arranged punch up which has zero choreography. It typifies the mentality of whoever made this dross – the guy has an imposing physique and looks great when he makes his entrance, but as soon as the "fight" starts, it descends into the realms of American wrestling, and is about as convincing. Hassan does his best, but its bad.An interview with Rio Ferdinand in the national press, in the build up to this film's UK release, revealed that he'd not actually read the script before investing his half of the budget. Its an incredible attitude to take to producing a film, but one that appears to have caught on – the only thought that appears to have gone into the bare knuckle punch up is to bring in a massive body builder.Later, there is a "chase" when a police motorcyclist persues Hassan and Dyer, driving a stolen black cab, through woodland. For no apparent reason, either within the scene or by what we see on the screen, the copper simply steers his motorcycle into a ditch, bringing an end to the chase before anything had happened. Several people in the cinema (and there were only several people in the cinema) grumbled at this – presumably the editor did the best he could, but why stage a chase if you can't pull it off ? It looks like there's half the scene missing.All in all this was a very poor effort. I wouldn't bet against all concerned going onto bigger and better things, and it would be interesting to see what Hassan can do with better material. Its one of those films that drags even though its not overly long, and one that you can cut a good trailer for, and create an appealing poster for, but I found it very disappointing in just about every department.