Cleanskin

Sleepy

Just watched this tonight and really enjoyed it. A very gritty thriller with Sean Bean playing the MI5 agent and Abhin Galeya as a British born terrorist.

Some nice characterisation and what seems a more realistic take on the job done by MI5 and a much more fleshed out depiction of the young jihadist than we normally see.

It's not perfect but if you ever enjoyed Robert Ludlum's books or like the idea of a less fantastical Bourne movie it's well worth a watch.

Really good film.

Would definitely recommend it too.

tricky D

But, but, but, does Sean Bean die in it???

Sleepy

That'd be telling...

clappyhappy

Must check it out, thanks for the heads up.

One does not simply blow themselves up.

TerrorFirmer

Thought this was a really good film as well, very gritty.

Mike Litoris

Edz87 wrote: »

One does not simply blow themselves up.

Hehe:p

Yeah, thought this was really really good. Really puts similar Hollywood efforts to shame.

clappyhappy

Watched it Saturday night, really good movie, left the door open for a sequel. At least I hope they do one.

charlie_says

I too enjoyed this. Yer man was spot on giving **** to the officers at the funeral (not a spoiler).

TheDoc

Just watched this week, missed it in the cinema.

Thoroughly enjoyable viewing. It wasn't overly creative or mind blowing in depth as to how someone can walk the path to becoming a terrorist, but it was an interesting story to the overall.

The actual "twist" I coped about halfway through, but it was still a chilling exploration into how far things can go

"Tottenham" win the Champions league, we a good lol as it scrolled across the newsbar.

Big of a blooper when they get to "Pauls" house, and the silencers magically appear on and off from scene to scene, nothing major though, was just standout for me

I've always liked Sean Bean, like, really liked him. There is something outrageously intense about him, in his demenour and the way he delivers his lines.

I can't understand why he is always cannon fodder, surely there is a "BIG"performance due for him with a top quality film.

Definitely recommended viewing though

Cleanskin is yet another by the book British action thriller that strives to say something unique and interesting but instead gets lost under some hackneyed storytelling and familiar action. With it's sweeping shoots of London, the film calls to mind every other London set action thriller of the past decade and while it admirably tries to tell a story with a little substance by offering a fresh perspective on terrorism, it simply doesn't have the intelligence or script to back it up and relies on a number of slick action set pieces to keep viewers interested.

Sean Bean stars as Ewan, a grizzled counter terrorist agent whose seen it all. He's the kind of hard assed, rugged bastard that would sooner burn a suspect alive than have a discussion with them. Ewan feels very much like a modern spin on Edward Woodward's classic Callan, they share a disdain of authority and find themselves in a world that has no idea how to use their talents. Sadly, while Callan had the benefit of great writing, Ewan has a playbook right out of genre cliches 101.

Running parallel to Ewan's story is that of Ash, the leader of the Muslim suicide bombers that Ewan is tasked with stopping. The sympathetic light in which Ash is shown is refreshing and the contrast between how Ash is exploited and used and how Ewan's superior use him is interesting but rather than concentrate on this the film finds itself far more concerned with getting to the next fist fight.

Cleanskin is the kind of film that wants you to think it's raising important questions when in fact, it's really little more than a generic action thriller that asks some moral questions but simply doesn't know how to answer them. As the minutes tick by Cleansking offers little more than the same heavy handed messages and imagery while relishing in sequences of excessive violence and the kind of macho posturing that went out of fashion with the end of the 80s.

In the hands of a more capable writer/director then there's a lot that could be done with the material here, but sadly Cleanskin is just another forgettable 24 clone without any of the wit or fun of an average Jack Bauer day. It's obvious what writer/director Hadi Hajaig set out to accomplish and as such it's a real shame that Cleanskin is such a forgettable experience. Cleanskin is the kind of film you'd expect to find on Movies4Men at 4am on a Friday morning and even then is best avoided.