VENDETTA

VENDETTA

Jimmy (Danny Dyer) is a seasoned soldier who's just returned to Blighty following 8 months in Afghanistan. He's home to mourn the murder of his parents, who were torched to death in their flat by a gang of unknown youths.

Desperate to find the culprits, Jimmy hits a brick wall of terrified silence down at the local pub.

When a friend of his father's, "have-a-go hero" George (Tony Denham), intervenes during a daylight robbery and inadvertently kills one of the thugs, they retaliate by finding his address and burning him alive along with his wife. It's this gang's fourth murder by such method, making it pretty obvious to Jimmy that the lads who did George in are also his parents' killers.

With the help of jaded copper pal Joe (Ricci Harnett) who's seen enough of London's violent crimes, Jimmy locates the first of the gang - Warren (Joshua Osei) - and forces the names of his accomplices from him.

But as Jimmy goes on the warpath, the police become aware of a vigilante presence on their turf and his military bosses recognise his handiwork on the streets. Can he evade both groups long enough to get even with this gang of vile, pensioner-roasting hoodlums?

Dyer's name doesn't instil confidence in a film, does it? I think the majority of us see it in print and tend to think "oh, fuck no, another terrible 'wide boy' film". To his credit, Dyer - who at the time of writing this review has just joined the cast of TV's "EastEnders" - has recently stated in "Total Film" magazine that he's previously been his own worst enemy career-wise, and has made a lot of poor acting choices due to misguided loyalties.

In the same article, he emphasises his pride for writer-director Stephen Reynolds' VENDETTA. So, is it really a film that stands apart from a lot of the straight-to-DVD dross he's been known to frontline in recent years?

Most obviously, it plays into right-wing fears of today's violent Britain, offering the same violent knee-jerk reaction to the media-led demonising of youth that DEATH WISH so successfully exploited some four decades earlier. Certainly, the young thugs in this case study deserve their just desserts. But perhaps the relish and creativity with which Jimmy slays his targets negates any sense of balanced revenge: he's just as bad as those whose blood he's baying for.

Even so, the film is incredibly taut even at 102 minutes in length and remains engaging enough to prevent you from identifying its plot-holes and querying the validity of its dubious moral ambiguities for the most part.

Dyer dominates the screen, of course, but not necessarily in a positive way. He's a big character, capably overshadowing all those around him even when - as is the case here - he's playing things in a relatively low key. His largeness can't compensate, though, for the fact that you can never accept him as a specially trained assassin and interrogator. Where, then, is his patience, his steely cool, his higher-than-yours intelligence? Despite having been given a beard presumably to add some gravitas, he still comes across as a "fackin' geezer" most of the time.

The young thugs all play out their one-dimensional roles well. Reynolds' screenplay is extremely broad, painting them as cartoonish bogeymen capable of nothing but evil. But, in the context of the crowd-pleasing torrent of urban violence that is VENDETTA, the stereotype suffices.

It's pleasing to report that the film is very well edited, always looks attractive thanks to impressive cinematography, and ends with a great, cheesy 'make the crowd cheer' moment of "fuck you" attitude against the establishment, just like all the best films used to.

Yes, it's clichéd. We know, when Jimmy hooks up with his estranged wife Morgan (Roxanne McKee), that there can be but one fate awaiting her. An ending that leaves things open for a sequel is inevitable. And you could get well pissed playing a drinking game that involves fishing out moments cribbed from DEATH WISH, DEAD MAN'S SHOES and even THE HORSEMAN. Amongst others.

But, forgive this film its obviousness, and you'll find that it really does entertain. Yes, even with Danny Dyer at its core.

The film is presented on Anchor Bay's DVD in a superb 2.35:1 transfer which has been enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Images are sharp, crisp and clean while blacks are solid and colours are bold throughout. You couldn't have asked for more.

English audio is well served in robust 2.0 and 5.1 mixes.

The disc opens to an animated main menu page. From there, a static scene-selection menu allows access to the film via 12 chapters.

Extras begin with a light, occasionally self-gratifying audio commentary track from Dyer and Reynolds. They speak of the film's tight 3-week shooting schedule, its undisclosed "micro" budget and the pleasures of working with a cast that also included the likes of Charlie Bond and Nick Nevern.

A 2-minute deleted scene is welcomed, but in truth offers nothing new to our evening's enjoyment.

Far better is the 31-minute Behind The Scenes documentary; a stylish, professionally compiled assortment of on-set footage and EPK-style sound-bites.

A 101-second trailer looks good but perhaps does the film a minor disservice, in making it look a bit more laddish than it actually is.

Finally, we get Reynolds' earlier short film "The Snowman" which is essentially a 15-minute urban vigilante tale that can, loosely, be perceived as a dry run for VENDETTA.

VENDETTA is a surprisingly entertaining film. It subscribes to clichéd notions of police, youth and army officials (do they really behave like sinister Masons?) and does contain the major hurdle of Danny Dyer in its lead role ... but, I concede, it's actually very involving fare.

Also available on blu-ray.

By Stuart Willis


 
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Region 2 - PAL
Rated 18
Extras :
see main review
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