Johnny Was (2006)

Load of rubbish!!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

An aging Vinnie Jones stars as a former convict and IRA-type terrorist keeping a low profile after getting out of prison. His past catches up with him in the form of Patrick Bergen, an old terrorist crony who has also gotten out of prison and is looking for some action when he should be retired and gone fishing. The two stumble across a low-level drug lord, nicely played by Eriq LaSalle, and the three make some half-baked plans that eventually come to naught, thanks to the two-timing and still deadly Bergen. While there are some action scenes, mainly having to do with Belfast in the 1970s, the movie is largely a talker and character study of people either trying to do the right thing -- or maybe not. A great surprise ending. For adults only.

I saw this movie on offer for £2.99 in a supermarket, and saw that the stars were Vinnie Jones, Lennox Lewis and Samantha Mumba. I bought it because I had a free afternoon and thought it would be laugh out loud awful.And to some extent - yes this could be called a bad movie - if you take it seriously. But films like this arn't suppose to be taken seriously in the same way that spiderman and the matrix aren't "serious" movies.If you take the film as it is (an enjoyable, perhaps tongue in cheek film) then it is very good. Lenox Lewis' casting adds to the understated comedy in the film.Before anyone has a go at this review, I am British I live in London and I don't particularly enjoy reggae - but this film is still enjoyable and worth a watch if you can pick it up for a bargain like I did.

Johnny Was does precisely what it says on the tin. Drama, comedy, politics, music and a fair splattering of original twists and turns all vie for your attention in a genuinely inventive take on the classic caper format.It's clearly not the biggest budget big screen fest, but it's such a refreshing change to see something resolutely un-Hollywood: thoroughly entertaining, un-sanitised, ambitious.In a nutshell, Johnny Was is a well-built UK crime caper with an utterly brilliant dub reggae soundtrack. And, to be honest, that says all you need to know. But you can read on if you like.Lennox Lewis' Rasta DJ character is superb - and well realised by the big man - while Vinnie Jones is settling down quite nicely into this whole acting lark. The dub-laden soundtrack's utterly brilliant (it was overseen by Adrian Sherwood), Eriq La Salle (ex of ER) delivers an excellent and nasty villain while Samantha Mumba is, well, Samantha Mumba (but she plays a junkie so is kept quiet and prone quite a bit). Mark Asante's great and graced with a number of quality one-liners while Patrick Bergin is every inch the derailed, unhinged whirly-gig you need to drop in the middle of films like this in order to shake things up and get people reaching for their guns, big knives and really, really angry eyebrows. Get the idea? So, this weekend, why not spend your DVD dollars on a UK-made, UK-funded twisty-turny, crime caper with genuine charm, comedy and invention, and forgo, just this once, Hollywood's hideously homogeneous hokum.

I was fortunate enough to have seen the movie at film fest. Wow - I thought it was such a light and enjoyable film. I didn't know Lennox Lewis could act!! The story is funny and clever. I've always enjoyed Eric LaSalle from ER and look forward to seeing him in other films. Hopefully this film leads to more engagements/roles. Roger Daltrey was cool but he should have had more exposure within the film since he did such a credible job. While the film was clearly made on an extremely small budget, I think that's what makes even more compelling. I have read some of the other reviews and am appalled at the reviews that are bad. Were those people actually watching the movie or did they have their Ipods on during the viewing!!