It's basically a British version of Death Wish.
Harry Brown, a pensioner living alone in a bad part of London, sees society around him falling apart into drugs, violence, and barbarism. But he does nothing, tending to his own affairs, until his best friend is murdered. Then this old Royal Marine turns into a vigilante.
Michael Caine does a superb job in this better written, higher production take on the Death Wish story. It's as much social commentary as it is an action movie, as urban youths are depicted in nearly subhuman form and the police are either useless or helpless to prevent or punish random criminal violence.
Grade: A
Official Site | Trailer
9 comments:
I'm interested in taking this in for two reasons. One is to see senior citizen Caine kick some hooligan tail, and the other is to find out how the screenwriter has him get some guns in Jolly Ol' England without making my head explode from disbelief.
Ooh! That's the guy from that diamond heist movie! (Flawless 2007)
I know I should have a more respectable visual recognition from the guy -- he's in plenty of better acclaimed movies -- but that's what I've got.
And that's right, he was more memorable than Demi Moore to me. Then again, Demi didn't show off any skin that time.
I just love his line: "Have you read any Communist literature?" "Well, I tried to read War and Peace one time, but I couldn't finish it."
James wrote:
the other is to find out how the screenwriter has him get some guns in Jolly Ol' England without making my head explode from disbelief.
Don't worry -- it won't explode. The solution is quite plausible.
Rich, I haven't seen that movie. But I've seen many Caine movies and really enjoyed them, such as The Man Who Would Be King, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Last Valley.
"But I've seen many Caine movies and really enjoyed them, such as..."
No Zulu, The Italian Job (the original, where a pre-TV Benny Hill plays a pervert computer expert), or the latest Batman movies?
Yeah, I've heard that Zulu is really good.
Zulu is really good. Seeing Michael Caine play the ambitious young officer was a switch though.
"the other is to find out how the screenwriter has him get some guns in Jolly Ol' England without making my head explode from disbelief."
My guess is he picks them up off of thugs he takes out or goes after a black market dealer. The gun ban in Britain doesn't stop the criminals from having guns after all.
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