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Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A Major Disappointment

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Okay, like a few others here, I didn't enjoy this film. But most of the problems I had with viewing seemed simple. They may even have simply been "American" difficulties: All the English/Irish accents! And the sound quality furthered the challenge of understanding (I viewed it on cable TV so who knows how the sound crumbled). The there was the Brit Isles' jargon, and any character being referred to by name, nickname, epithets... making it even harder for me to follow the story. The plot was like long sentences I myself sometimes utter, having endless modifying interjections that result in a constant struggle to understand what's happening. Added to this were jump-cuts that skipped through time. Still, the acting, the camera work, the casting (esp. my first view of Sally Hawkins) ... I LIKED all that; but eventually I had to turn it off. My patience for what seemed to be a too complicated story was reduced also by the setting: such a horrible way to live... ALL criminals? No spoilers here, because I couldn't keep watching... there seemed to be no end in sight.

A London drug dealer who regards himself as a businessman rather than a criminal, operates by a set of rules that he believes will enable him to retire shortly with the huge amount of money that he's accumulated. With a letting agency as his front and an accountant who systematically launders his money, he's convinced that he knows exactly what he's doing and says that "life's so good, I can taste it in my spit". In reality, however, because he's oblivious to the true levels of treachery that routinely permeate every layer of the criminal hierarchy within which he works; he's heading for a fall.The dealer (Daniel Craig) whose name is never mentioned in the movie and is listed in the credits as XXXX unwittingly reaches a pivotal moment in his career when his boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham), calls him to a luncheon meeting and gives him two jobs to carry out. One is to find the missing drug-addicted daughter of his long-time associate, Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon) and the other is to acquire and sell the one million ecstasy pills that are currently in the hands of a low-level gangster called "The Duke" (Jamie Foreman). It's from this point onwards that everything starts to unravel for XXXX as he discovers that the ecstasy pills had been stolen from a gang of Serbians who've sent a ruthless hit-man called Dragan (Dragan Micanovic) to recover their property and also to eliminate anyone who's involved. This puts XXXX in immediate danger because the Serbians had been given the impression by The Duke that he had been working for XXXX.After he's surprisingly kidnapped by Eddie Temple's men, XXXX learns that, as well as having had an ulterior motive for wanting Eddie's daughter to be found, Jimmy was also involved in a major act of betrayal against his own criminal fraternity and a plan to relieve XXXX of all of the money he'd made as a drug dealer. Further revelations, betrayals and an act of revenge then follow before the full extent of XXXX's downfall suddenly becomes apparent."Layer Cake" is a complicated, character-heavy crime drama that's full of double-crosses, clever twists and dry humour. It's based on the novel of the same name by J.J. Connolly and in adapting it for the big screen, he's retained so many of the story's minor characters and subplots that the end-result is more involved than it needs to be and as a result, fails to consistently convey to its audience what is important and what isn't. First-time director Matthew Vaughn does a good job of injecting clarity, vitality and stylishness into the whole undertaking and its large cast of talented actors also do well with Daniel Craig, Michael Gambon and Kenneth Cranham providing the most powerful and memorable performances. Overall, the movie is gritty, violent and lacks any likable characters but its soundtrack is well above average with especially good use being made of tracks by The Cult, The Rolling Stones and Duran Duran.

(Originally reviewed: 15/01/2017) Matthew Vaughn's directorial debut is a triumph, he has created a very good crime picture with just as much style as there is substance. Daniel Craig is terrific as a cocaine dealer with a simple but efficient way of doing business, alongside him (His associates) are Tom Hardy, George Harris and Colm Meaney, who are all really good here. The dialogue is fast, slick and fresh, as well as some rather impressive surprises along the way, this picture is rarely predictable, has a good sense of humour and is always engaging. I however wasn't over impressed with some of the female performances that were merely passable, this included Sienna Miller who is no more than Eye candy here, despite appearing extremely sexy in her black lingerie and stockings. Also I was unimpressed with the ending for which I will confidently admit, this picture just didn't know the right way to end.On the other hand I think Layer Cake is the kind of film best discovered by the person viewing it, the less you know about the story, the more pleasantly surprising it will be. Overall this is a smart, skillful gangster picture with a cool soundtrack (Stones: Gimme Shelter) and contains direction, writing and scenes that would make Martin Scorsese proud.

You've heard of Snatch. Lock Stock. Rocknrolla. The rest of the British Gangsta series. This is one of the best of the lot and the cast is incredible. It's most of the big name stars before they were really big names. And this film lets you know why they made it.Roger Craig is our unnamed protagonist who has some type of moral code even though he's a cocaine dealer. He's just about on his way out when his handler decides that he's got two very tough tasks for him right before our hero retires. And what a mess it turns out to be.The dialogue is swift, crisp and witty. Even a very young Tom Hardy can be seen in this film. And Craig is extremely likable and charismatic. He's got that flair that made him Bond but without the extra need for dramatics and pretense.I loved this film. Great soundtrack, interesting characters, a story that moves and whose plot isn't too contrived that it can't be followed. It's a story about the layers that comprise the business, from the top all the way down. And the cake is tasty. Enjoy.