London Boulevard

Egy "menő gengszterfilm", ami hiába próbál Ritchie alkotásai vagy Glazer Szexi dög mesteri film mellé besorolni. A dialógusok inkább wtf-szerűek, mint viccesek vagy élesek, a tempó siralmas, a forma túlságosan konvencionális. A romantikus szál sem működik olyan jól, mint ahogyan szeretné. Az egyetlen dolog, ami ezt a látványosan rosszul rendezett filmet a középszerűség szintje fölött tartja, az a pazar szereposztás. (2011.03.08)

An attempt at a melodramatic gangster film that completely misses the mark – psychology, dialogue and directing, which, instead of rhythmization, is a vexing retardation. If I take away the fact that the whole thing makes no sense at all, and the film is more of a hanger for clichés (which is also beating itself up), I have to appreciate the magnificent Farrell – when he's circling the screen in a suit with a gun in his hand, there's a Bond elegance to it... And Thewlis character is constantly on a trip, so one forgives him the illogical babbling (as far as I know, the other characters do not take drugs). Otherwise, it's a pretty simple-minded patchwork of a guy trying to look like Ritchie kissed by the ghost of de Palma. **1/2 (you know why I’m rounding up) (2011.02.03)

The beginning definitely didn't promise anything great. But it picks up decently about halfway through and the ending is surprising. Colin Farrell may fit the role of a big time gangster, but I didn't find him that convincing here. Like many others, I have no idea where he got such huge respect. Of course, it's not Farrell's fault, it's the half-baked script. I enjoyed the wonderful music. 3 stars. (2012.02.05)

Fucking soccer players. Strange. London Boulevard completely lacks momentum. It has enormous potential, great actors, a solid plot, but there are places where it really runs out of air. Meanwhile, Keira Knightley is amazing. I haven't seen her in a while, but even in this small role, she's bewitched me again. Otherwise, the choice of music was better than I have heard for a long time. A soundtrack of genius. (2011.03.27)

I didn’t know what to expect from London Boulevard based on all the other reviews I’ve read. Yet it certainly was not the fact that it would be so entertaining. The screenplay is not great, predictably combining mainly the unbeatable Carlito's Way and Costner's Bodyguard, but the film has a good British atmosphere and plenty of likeable actors (apart from the central duo, mainly Ray Winstone and David Thewlis, but it would be unfair to leave out sleazeball Ben Chaplin and the overly cute Anna Friel), which eventually made me forget the clichés and enabled me to watch, have fun, listen to the awesome soundtrack and not think where the hell I've seen this all before. (2011.11.13)

William Monahan probably said to himself that he will try to repeat his success with the film "The Departed", for which he received an Oscar for the screenplay. He stuck with gangster films, but moved to London, where the boy was not born. He is a pure American, which may be one of the reasons why the film doesn't quite work. True, he studied Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he fully understands how a gangster film could look in English. Guy Ritchie gave life to similar films and Monahan tries to follow in his footsteps. Besides writing the screenplay himself, he also made his directorial debut. It shows a little, because the film definitely lacks the right momentum, in which it is incomparable to Ritchie, whose older, as well as newer pieces like "RocknRolla," are so high-energy, as if they never had to stop for a moment. "London Boulevard" is not lacking action, but it is more of a conversational film than an action film. And actually, it is a romance, which is the element that mainly works here. Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley actually go together quite well. Who would have thought that? The second highly functional element is the actress being hounded by the paparazzi. In this sense, there are excellent scenes here and it is evident the pressure that is placed on actors and actresses mainly. However, in other respects, the film "London Boulevard" does not stand out, its story is perhaps too simple, although it is not a complete mishmash. Monahan tries to top it off with a punchline. The violence is depicted quite realistically here, which again refers to Ritchie or McDonagh. Average in my opinion. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/07/mistrovsky-plan-nerdi-bel-ami-susi.html (2013.02.24)

A souped-up soundtrack, the great Colin Farrell, the skinny Keira Knightley, and a well-trodden tale of a gangster trying to live "right" after getting out of prison, whereupon his past catches up with him, of course. Nice locations, direction commensurate to the resulting quality of the film. Doesn't impress, doesn't offend. (2013.02.28)