Harry Brown - A more subdued tale of vengeance and retribution

Ever since Charles Bronson starred in `Death Wish' the theme of a - usually - mild-mannered individual taking up arms in pursuit of avenging a loved one lost to the undesirable elements of society has been well-known. Over the years there have been various takes on it and here, for the first time to my knowledge, we have the British take on it.

Our very own Michael Caine takes the titular role of `Harry Brown' - an ex-marine who now lives in one of London's roughest estates. When his best friend is murdered by a gang of young thugs, he takes the law into his own hands and starts meeting out deadly retribution. However, anyone expecting anything in the way of `action' will be left sorely disappointed. This has to be the most `subdued' version of the `classic revenge-thriller' ever made. Whereas you could almost cheer Paul Kersy on in Death Wish, here, you can almost feel the reluctance in Michael Caine as he is forced to `despatch' yet another brainless thug from his housing estate.

Like I say, there isn't much action and - believe it or not - there isn't as much violence as you might expect from a film like this. This is more about the man himself and how he deals with having to -technically - kill out of wartime (and also civilians, albeit evil ones).

This is a dark and gritty tale of one of London's worst parts. It's definitely not feelgood and the overall vibe I took from this film was one of sadness. So, if you're a fan of Michael Caine, you should automatically love this. Otherwise, it's one that you have to prepare yourself for a peek into a world you probably do your best to avoid.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that