Don't waste your time renting this movie
If you're like me with money on hand, bored and in need of
entertainment, you will go to your local (corporate) video store to see what's available and if you're like me thinking that you're slick, you would avoid the new releases and head to the vintage "drama, or thriller/action" isles. I have found this movie in such an isle and it looked promising with Capone holding a Tommy Gun, along with the grainy transfer for the cover,you'd think you've found a very overlooked gem but this is not the case. In the beginning of this movie, Capone and his henchmen cut's the throat of messenger boy sent from his enemies (the Irish Mob) and after this, you'd think things will continue along this path but it doesn't. My favorite parts is a Polish butcher pressing his fingers in a slab of meet to give an example on how to pronounce his name, "Sla-vetski", and a dwarf hit-man played by the same guy who played in Willow. The funny thing is, since this focuses on three friends from England, all the sudden, I'm noticing other actors with an accent and to escape with the loot, the women, and partying like you got over, is very...disappointing and unrealistic.. 
A British gangster movie with real gangsters!
Forget Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Al's Lads delivers old-school
gangsters with spats and tommy-guns. Okay so it's not got the flair of The Sting and it's not got the set pieces of The Untouchables, but this film's heart is in the right place. A fish out of water tale, based on real events apparently, three friends from Liverpool get drawn into the shady underworld of Al Capone's Mob in 1927 Chicago. What transpires is a fresh, but somewhat unrealised perspective on a classic genre. The script gets a little muddled but provides the necessary beats in the end. The sets, lighting, wardrobe and makeup are all solid, as are the majority of the performances, most notably Marc Warren in the lead and Richard Roundtree as his mentor. Sadly, what is lacking is a clear vision. Ultimately, it is the director who should have made more out of the material.. |
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