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Truly Dreadful Film

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I wasn't sure what to expect, a fairly absorbing movie dramatising the life of infamous Glaswegian Paul Ferris. A gangster with a degree of notorioty, the film puts him in a fairly good light, I'm not too sure that was the case in real life events. Well acted for the most part, Martin Compston is always a great performer, he brings the film to life. I have to say I loved Rita Tushingham's turn as Rita, not in it for long, but she was great. The violence was well realised, hard hitting and visually strong, great effects, explosions etc. The period detail was excellent, great cars, clothes etc. It's not a film I'd make a regular watch, but a decent watch nonetheless. 6/10

This film's greatest crimes are arguably not those perpetrated by the low-life who are endlessly romanticised in what is a barely fit for TV offering, but rather the baffling miscasting (the previously excellent Compston - try Sweet Sixteen for a legitimate performance - is like a child in man's clothing), the endless line-up of wildly un-Glaswegian accents (Patrick Bergin's Arthur Thompson is more Irish than Guinness), the melodramatic sentimentality, faux-gangster banter, spit-through characterisation and directionless, erm, direction. I should have hoped that these characters would die off one by one to pay for their amoral existences, but ultimately, I simple hoped they would die to bring this film to an end.

Oh, I'm tired of this kind of film. So tired. I've seen it a million times before... And the usual 'Based On A True Story' moniker doesn't get it off the hook either. It's grown men acting like little boys in a big city (In this case Edinburgh) double crossing each other to prove who's top dog, while a corrupt police force looks on. There's drugs, booze, a strip joint with the ugliest broads this side of Essex, and a lead character who wants to leave this pointless rivalry and make 'a fresh start'. How nice. All the usual clichés in one place.Something tells me this script was approved by it's real-life subject Paul Ferris, as it shows him as a real family man, who managed to recover from a rough upbringing to become a big name on the streets. He might have got involved in a few shady dealings... but most of the time he was fitted up by the coppers, and what he did do was to support his wife and son. Besides, everyone else around him was so vile and nasty that his own antics paled in comparison. YAWN. Change the record.Next up: A wart-and-all biopic of Ronnie Biggs, who was a good chap at heart and only committed The Great Train Robbery because he needed medicine for his sick mother. You heard it here first... 5/10

I always refused to read ferris's book as I know him to be a complete liar and a bully! But knowing a family member was going to be represented in this film (Arthur Thompson Sr) I had to give it a watch. now i feel compelled to speak on his behalf as he and Rita rip are no longer with us, and oh my god! the story is completely fabricated and I mean completely! For a start my uncle Arthur was never convicted of a single murder yet according to this "true story" ferris saw him shoot someone point blank when he was young, sorry but how can u say he did this without evidence it's slander! Doesn't surprise me as ferris always wanted to be like Arthur! It's like the film swapped there personalities! Arthur was a gentleman and a business man, not a bloody no mark! Ferris never met Maggie!! Never mind help out with revenge! And Rita was a lovely woman not this bitter twisted character they have portrayed! Prime example 1966 was when poor mags died, ferris was 3!!!!!! Right from the start is a fabrication, the whole banks brothers stuff is all rubbish it was the welsh family! They were responsible for Maggie's death keep in mind ferris is 3 years old at this point! Also ferris had to go to that house because he was seen in front of witnesses killing a man and his dog!!! And fat boy while a relative of sorts is portrayed well to a degree, I know he's dead but like I say this film is so off the mark, he was a heroin addict not coke?! And Arthur didn't die in a pub bless him he died at home! The man had a heart of gold n yes maybe he did things he shouldn't have but it was always in retaliation n they were always in the business no civilians! Ever! I just don't understand how they can base it in a "true story" when they've added 30 years to ferris life just to get him included in events he had no part in to make him look Gd! The film itself isn't too bad but is no way a true story, no way!!!