The Limey Reviews

The idea was good...

but the execution is painful to watch: all that talent and money going to waste.

Terrible acting by Terence Stamp: his accent may convince a Californian but to a Londoner it sounds like a lovey trying to play the hard man. You'll want to laugh but will be too uninterested to bother.

The bad acting is matched by the self-conscious and pretentious approach taken by the director which just further hinders the viewer from engaging with the story and the main character.

Avoid.

Awful !

I'm sure a film that Soderbergh would love to remove from his CV.

Being a fan of his films I decided to rent 'The Limey', but it's far removed from the quality of his usual work. It has the common trade marks of Soderbergh films - voice over's, enhanced color, George Clooney, flash back's and flash forwards, but that's where it stops.

The film has no plot and is obviously heading in one direction right from the very begining. Soderbergh has added a couple of comical scenes at various points during the film but I just found them embarrassing. Even Terence Stamp was a disappointment.

Don't bother. There are lots of good films out there.

[Highly rated reviewer]

BLIMEY!

Not at all one of Steven Soderbergh 's best. No where near.

Some amazing photography, great locations but there the 'story ends'...

Stamp is - or has been - a great actor. In this he is awful. He really LOOKS the part, however he is totally unconvincing, stuck in a mainly one-dimensional character that he is vainly attempting to make 2D.

The flash backs and cross cutting are at first intreguing and amusing, but get annoying very quickly. I, in no way feel that movies should be linear in their plotting, but this was distracting and hindered the storytelling.

Avoid.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Cockney Mockney, not done properly

Sodernburg is up to his usual tricks with this smooth and cool picture. His stylish editing some times leaves you feeling directed to, it's almost like every time someone has a conversation they have it twice in two different places with both conversations being shoe horned into the same space.

The cutting from past to present proves a quite inventive form of story telling.

Unfortunately if you're English you'll find the leading character a very bad cockney gangster cliché, who goes as far as to translate his cockney banter to his American friends. With a list of banter right out of the Usbourne 'How to Be A Cockney' Guide book.

This puts a massive dampener on a what would otherwise be a pretty good film.

If your cockney prepare to be patronised.

Tell them he's coming!

The Limey covers similar ground to 'Get Carter' and 'Point Blank' in depicting a career criminal moving like a force of nature through a world that he hasn’t kept up with and won’t try to understand.

Terence Stamp is magnificent as Wilson, the aforementioned cockney crook driven by regret, revenge and the despair of not knowing what really happened to his recently dead daughter. Edited in a way that resembles a jumbled memory, the film’s narrative bounces around offering up snap shots of each character and adding depth to them in doing so. The film never discloses whether it is a flashback, flash forward or even fantasy, but with a tight script that elevates this film beyond simply looking great and superb performances from Stamp, Peter Fonda and a brilliant Luis Guzman, it matters not.

The cockney dialogue is a bit dubious, but Stamp delivers it with an intensity that elevates it beyond corny. A fantastic movie that sits alongside other lone gangster films with pride.

Stuttering

I found this quite a good film, loved the locations and the story. but the stuttering flashback type editing left a few sections a bit confusing.

Modern Day

This is a modern day classic...!

Loved every minute of this movie.

I have never seen Terrance Stamp in any movie but now I want to watch everything he's been in!

Tough and gritty and not your usual throw - away movie.

The Limey

Not as bad as other reviews may suggest - okay the rhming slang is ridculous, but the film is nicely shot, with some intersting locations and characters. Definitely worth a look if you like an Englishman in America type film, also a good supporting cast. A workmanlike film, enjoyable in a slightly tongue in cheek way, just dont expect to be blown away.

True Brit

This was a good Gangster film in set in America. It was great to have a goo British film set in America with a real bad character. Terence Stamp was scarier than most of the two-dimensional paper gangters portrayed by Hollywood.

Brilliant portrayal

not worth it

there are not many films which i have switched off half way through but this is one of them. Film just wasn't going anywhere, tempted to shout 'taxi' so i could get in it and go to the pub