Rent We Still Kill the Old Way (2014)

British Gangster - We Still Kill the Old Way review by GI

A thoroughly clichéd British gangster film full of stereotypes but terrifically entertaining even when it is occasionally makes you cringe. Heavily influenced by Harry Brown (2009) this relies on very dark humour to create a film that pits the old guard of criminal against the nastier and without honour new youth gangs. When former east end villain Charlie Archer (Steven Berkoff) is murdered by a feral street gang led by Aaron (Danny Hatchard) Charlie's brother Ritchie (Ian Ogilvy) comes home from self imposed exile in Spain to find out who killed him and to mete out his revenge. There's a stupid attempt here to create a London that benefited in the past from the control by the old 60s gangsters but has now gone wild with viciousness. Some might say it has a point but it's a clumsy attempt at moralising organised crime with giving it a code of honour and the film is best viewed as a cartoonish gangster film that homages films from The Italian Job (1969) (indeed there's a reference to this film at the end) to The Long Good Friday (1980), even the corrupt cop here is given an honourable reason for being corrupt (his ill gotten gains paid for the care of his very ill wife). Some of the character links in the story are a step too far too. Good strong British cast including Alison Doody, James Cosmo (always great as a psychopath), Christopher Ellison and Lysette Anthony. Great fun and popular enough to get a sequel and apparently a third is in the pipeline. Watch for the sheer entertainment value and ignore it's empty moralising.