EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

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

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

torstensonjohn The film is a British version of Death Wish in many capacities, with the stellar Michael Caine as Harry brown leading the way. Taking place in London in harsh quarters as the streets ae being taken over and ran by youth gangs, Harry Brown takes it upon himself to clean it up after a friend is brutally murdered. The film capitalizes on Caine's delivery and raw emotion as he ventures in the vigilante psyche. I thought in general the film was nicely paced and although predictable it shined through with a great screenplay. I give this a 7 out of 10.

kessler10 Fine film, fine acting, I lived there too, saw many of the same things Caine remembers and portrayed well -- housing estates, alienation, boredom, elderly, fears, frustration, desperation. Reviewers & critics here missed those points, often -- the cause was the conditions, not the people, the police not the gangs or the drugs or the rest, even Harry's bravery and training were products of a society which created that South London hell. I am glad about Harry's finale at the very end, but that was a Hollywood-ending and not the movie's -- the Enemy was that ambitious & cynical cop who was manipulating the situation for his own career ends, and the System which had created him and the rest of this.The two leads have done great work -- I'll go see Caine in anything, again and again. The direction showed real talent -- I'll be looking for his work too, I hope again and again as well. This film unsettles me every time I see it, but that was its point.

FilmBuff1994 Harry Brown is a a decent movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a good cast. The main reason I am giving this such a low rating is because I found it to be an unpleasant experience, it's very gritty and surreal, something I didn't expect from this cast, I felt in complete discomfort for the majority of the film. Michael Caine is certainly the highlight of the movie, though I found seeing this violence with him on screen unpleasant, he does potray his character very naturally and steps in to Harry Brown's shoes with pure class. The characters were certainly a huge issue, I didn't find a single one likable, the bad guys were bad guys, and the good guys were basically bad guys as well, it's very hard to follow a film when you aren't truly supporting a single character. It's certainly not terrible, but Harry Brown is a weird film experience that I wouldn't recommend. An elderly former marine exacts revenge on a group of teenagers who killed his only companion. Best Performance: Michael Caine Worst Performance: Joseph Gilgun

FlashCallahan Ex Royal Marine Harry spends his life between hospital, where his wife is terminally ill, and playing chess with his only friend Len, in the local pub. After the death of his wife, Len tells Harry that the local gang is harassing him and he is carrying a bayonet for self-defence, Harry tries to reason with him, and suggests he go to the police. When Len is stabbed to death in an underpass, and the police can only stand back and watch due to orders from above, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands....Its a grimy film to watch, and if you've ever lived, or known anyone who has lived on a council estate, for the majority of the film, it's pretty realistic stuff, and just how brilliant is it that Caine agreed to be in this, there really is no other choice.It could have been so easy for the film to go down the B-movie, action path, but the makers keep it just on the right side of plausible, and the slow, yet tense, build up, only makes the payoff all the more satisfying.But, it's a little silly in places, a hospital would never get rid of a deceased person that quickly, all the more so when a relative is on their way, CG blood is a little over the top and feels out of place in a film like this, and the ending feels a little too Hollywood for me.But Drew is fantastic here as the hoodlum, his character oozes attitude and angst, and you can really feel the hate for his character, not because he's so different from anyone else in the gang, it's because you know there are dozens of people like that, who speak in a faux gangsta' accent, walking abhorrently, trying to be street.These sort of people are a parasite to society, and here they are depicted that way, as parasites.The film makers message is slammed down our throat a little too much toward the end, but Caine more than makes up for the film shortcomings, his coolness throughout the film shows that he calm and collected, he truly makes the film.