Blitz (2011)
Certified: 18
Duration: 97 minutes
Directed by: Elliott Lester
Starring: Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, David Morrissey, Zawe Ashton, Luke Evans, Mark Rylance
KRS release
Jason Statham is one of the few actors working in Hollywood today who can really churn out enjoyable action movies. He is like the modern-day Charles Bronson, all serious and gruff; each role he plays ends up looking the same, but he still provides his fans with a rollicking good time.
Under Elliott Lester’s direction Blitz is a thriller that has all the hallmarks of a Jason Statham film crossed over with a British identity that makes this film quite a candidate for cult greatness. Gritty and dirty, Blitz goes for the gut feeling and punches. Much like its main star, it evolves into a neat, tight thriller that efficiently careens its audience into London’s dark side.
Made for fans of The Bank Job and adapted from the novel by Ken Bruen Jason Statham plays London cop Brant who, obviously enough, is always in trouble with both the authorities and the criminals. Brant is a cop who gets the job done even though he leaves quite a few broken limbs behind him. Trouble is brewing as a psycho killer who calls himself Blitz is on the loose targeting policemen. Brant is on the case and inevitably enough, rules will be broken.
Matters are further complicated as the killer is providing information to the tabloids who are having a field day. Then there is Brant’s new superior Nash (Paddy Considine) who is being given all kinds of stick for being gay, while one of Brant’s police friends (Zawe Ashton) is returning to the job after a time in rehab.
The carnage and destruction that Statham leaves in his wake is simply admirable and a testament to Statham’s on screen persona of the brutish yet likeable and honest do-gooder. The fact that he plays the character of Brant straight faced and without batting an eye lid shows how much he has ingrained himself in such characters.
Paddy Considine is very effective as the policemen who is it the exact opposite of Statham’s bulldozer cop. It’s quite fun to see these two very different cops trying to work together. Aidan Gillan is the villain and he plays him in a delightfully cheesy and over-the-top manner adding to the film’s lunacy. Zawe Ashton straight from St Trinian’s adds a nice supporting role to the film, making her a face to look out for.
The stunts and action sequences provide the film with an urgent and gritty feel. The camera work and editing is fast and stylish and gives the whole affair a cool look. This is not London as we know it, but rather a London that has been re-edited to fit into an MTV-styled world. While the film is over the top and B-movie in its attitude and storytelling, Blitz still ends up being quite a nifty thriller that delivers the Blitz that it promises.
This is Dirty Harry done British style.