Locke - Know what you’re getting yourself in for

I didn’t like ‘Locke,’ but I’m pretty sure that it’s my fault I didn’t.  First of all, I don’t watch films at the cinema, only on DVD.  Then, if a film has an actor/theme etc that I like, I’ll watch it without really finding out what it’s about.  I think this was a major mistake with Locke.

I’m a big fan of Tom Hardy and will watch him in pretty much anything since I first saw him in Star Trek 10 (yes, I was a fan even before he put his ‘Bane’ mask on).  And, if you check out the various quotes on the front of the poster for Locke, you’ll see things like ‘An outstanding thriller.’ Well, that was enough to get me to watch it without even bothering to find out what was contained within the film.

I expected a tense, thrill ride, jam-packed with action and car chases.  At least I got the car.
The film is actually about one man (yes, just a single man for an hour and twenty minutes).  Tom Hardy plays a man (called ‘Locke’ believe it or not) who is driving from his home in Wales to London to be with a woman (not his wife I should point out) who is about to give birth to his child.  The entire film therefore takes place in the car with him at the wheel, as he talks to various people over the phone, i.e. his wife (who is none too happy about this) and his business associates (who are equally unhappy about him abandoning them on the eve of a major contract).

And there you have it… nearly an hour and a half of a man talking on his car phone.  Now, I’m not saying that it’s not tense, nor badly-acted.  Tom Hardy is excellent (as always) and this is basically a one-man play which highlights just how good an actor he really is.  However, thrilling it isn’t.  I get what the film-makers are trying to do, i.e. slowly cranking up the tension as the journey continues, but it just didn’t work for me.

Maybe it was because I was expecting something completely different.  I know it’s my fault.  If you bother to check out other reviews/internet message boards (which I obviously didn’t!) you’ll find this quite clearly stated.

So, know what you’re getting in for with this film.  It’s probably quite good if you’re in the mood for a minimalistic little slow-burner.  I’ll probably watch it again sometime when I’m in the mood for something a little more subtle.  In the meantime, I’ll stick to watching Tom snapping Batman’s back like a twig

5/10 a hard trek, a bit like unicycling to Mordor and back