HARRY BROWN
2010
R
You can watch the trailer here
R
You can watch the trailer here
Honestly, you can't really go wrong with Michael Caine.
Harry Brown is a 2010 action film directed by Daniel Barber that tells the story of a man named, well, Harry Brown who consistently visits his sick wife in the hospital and spends the rest of his day drinking and playing chess with his friend Leonard (David Bradley). Harry knows that there has been a rise in youth violence in his neighborhood but chooses to ignore it as best he can. One night, when he receives a late-night phone call saying that his wife is dying, Harry moves as quickly as he can but has to take the longer, safer route to the hospital causing him to arrive too late to say goodbye. Days later, Leonard confides in him that has been harassed by some of the young people in the neighborhood and he has decided to take action on his own. The following day, police inspector Alice Framptom (Emily Mortimer) informs Harry that Leonard had been killed the previous night. Harry starts to think that the police aren't doing enough to find Leonard's killers, so he decides to take matters into his own hands, using the skills he learned decades earlier as a Marine.
Truthfully, that plot synopsis doesn't really give the story much justice. The screenplay is solid but it's not necessarily going to wow you. It plods along pretty slowly, every once in a while showing its teeth. The only problem is that it doesn't really show its teeth enough. The story moves so slowly that I got pretty bored with it about half an hour in. On top of that, it's a bit predictable, but that's neither here nor there. Nowadays, it seems more common to have a predictable story than an original one. You have to look pretty hard to find something completely original, but when you find it, it's definitely worth the watch.
Without Michael Caine, this movie would be a bit of a travesty. It's his performance that kept me even the slightest bit captivated, especially since the rest of the cast is good at best. Caine is slightly better than good, but this performance doesn't come close to some of the other roles in his repertoire. However, if you put any other older actor in his position, I'm not sure they'd be as compelling as Caine in the role. So I have to give some props to him.
So, if you're going to watch Harry Brown, watch it for Michael Caine, but don't expect anything great. It's a decent flick, and it'd probably be good for a lazy afternoon, but it's not going to stand against the test of time.
Harry Brown is a 2010 action film directed by Daniel Barber that tells the story of a man named, well, Harry Brown who consistently visits his sick wife in the hospital and spends the rest of his day drinking and playing chess with his friend Leonard (David Bradley). Harry knows that there has been a rise in youth violence in his neighborhood but chooses to ignore it as best he can. One night, when he receives a late-night phone call saying that his wife is dying, Harry moves as quickly as he can but has to take the longer, safer route to the hospital causing him to arrive too late to say goodbye. Days later, Leonard confides in him that has been harassed by some of the young people in the neighborhood and he has decided to take action on his own. The following day, police inspector Alice Framptom (Emily Mortimer) informs Harry that Leonard had been killed the previous night. Harry starts to think that the police aren't doing enough to find Leonard's killers, so he decides to take matters into his own hands, using the skills he learned decades earlier as a Marine.
Truthfully, that plot synopsis doesn't really give the story much justice. The screenplay is solid but it's not necessarily going to wow you. It plods along pretty slowly, every once in a while showing its teeth. The only problem is that it doesn't really show its teeth enough. The story moves so slowly that I got pretty bored with it about half an hour in. On top of that, it's a bit predictable, but that's neither here nor there. Nowadays, it seems more common to have a predictable story than an original one. You have to look pretty hard to find something completely original, but when you find it, it's definitely worth the watch.
Without Michael Caine, this movie would be a bit of a travesty. It's his performance that kept me even the slightest bit captivated, especially since the rest of the cast is good at best. Caine is slightly better than good, but this performance doesn't come close to some of the other roles in his repertoire. However, if you put any other older actor in his position, I'm not sure they'd be as compelling as Caine in the role. So I have to give some props to him.
So, if you're going to watch Harry Brown, watch it for Michael Caine, but don't expect anything great. It's a decent flick, and it'd probably be good for a lazy afternoon, but it's not going to stand against the test of time.
Movie Review Summary:
Grade: C+
Thumb... Slightly Down
Grade: C+
Thumb... Slightly Down
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