Directed by:
Matthew VaughnScreenplay:
J.J. ConnollyCinematography:
Ben DavisCast:
Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Marcel Iures, Michael Gambon, Tom Hardy, Tamer Hassan, Ben Whishaw, Burn Gorman (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Planning to retire and begin a new life, Mr. X (Daniel Craig), a successful West End drug dealer, has been asked for one last favor: to negotiate the sale of one million hits of Ecstasy. Unfortunately for Mr. X, the pills were stolen from a Serbian drug lord who'll cut off his head if he sells them. And with a London crime czar (Michael Gambon) promising to retire him permanently if he doesn't, Mr. X may be rightfully concerned about his future. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
Having seen Stardust (and been captivated by it) and most recently Kick-Ass (which captivated me even more), I decided to give Matthew Vaughn's work a go and got his first feature film to take home as well. Layer Cake is certainly a well made gangster flick with the more than good Daniel Craig in the lead role, and while it doesn't quite achieve the same "grit" as, say, Snatch, it comes across as wholesome and likeable and provides what it should in terms of genre. 80%
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The third star (that puts the film a bit above-par) is because it’s the début of a director that thrilled me with his other films, otherwise, Layer Cake disappointed me and I would give it five out of ten points. What to do with a film that doesn’t take itself seriously, but it’s not funny?
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Another in a series of pictures about the contemporary drug underworld that are full of dirty tricks, twists and that sort of thing. Debutant Matthew Vaughn did a good job and is helped considerably by a strong screenplay. The best thing about this is that this isn’t meant to be a spoof. In fact, quite the opposite. It is serious from start to finish. And that is good, very good, because we have seen far too many variations on “cool Richie pics".
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Superb. Vaughn is talented and serves up this great genre piece excellently. Camera tricks, great music, focus on actors... Today these are the creme de la creme of British actors and you can see that Craig put a lot of Mr. Into Bond. The story is well-thought through, has some surprises in store and, most importantly, it’s entertaining.
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The resemblance to Ritchie is palpable, but that doesn't matter. The important thing is that Matthew Vaughn can also make great films, and his debut is not just a mindless ripoff of a more famous colleague, but a very entertaining, imaginative and original crime film, of which there are never enough. It's true that all the twists and turns and plots aren't perfect and on point, but thanks to the excellent cast, the music and the almost "Ritchie-esque" direction, any ambiguities are squashed far into the background where they don't bother anyone too much. I had more than a pretty good time, I enjoyed Tom Hardy in a smaller role and Daniel Craig once again confirms that he really deserved the role of Bond as an actor. 8/10
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