Bonded by Blood (2010)

I guess the British film industry will never get tired of the Essex Boys affair, or I would say killing, that occurred in 1995, a sort of mini Saint Valentine massacre made in UK. I have never been informed of this killing, except through those movies never released in France. But I am sure that's at least the sixth film speaking of this affair. I am sure they will make films about it fifty years from now. There were not so many movies about the Great Train Robbery which took place in August 1963. I like crime or gangster flicks from over the Channel, although they seem all alike. You have two kinds, the SNATCH kind and the RISE OF THE FOOT SOLDIER one. I have seen dozens of those features, and I prefer the second genre, more brutal and realistic with also less humor. One more thing, about the scene where the young hood is killed with a riot gun in the end; when you get killed with this kind of rifle, your body jumps to the rear, it doesn't stand still...Caliber 12 is not 9mm...

We have some great actors, screenwriters and directors in the UK. This film employed none of them and it painfully showed. I picked it up in the 4 DVDs for a tenner in Blockbuster and still felt I'd been conned.In the bonus features I was astounded as I watched the cast having a great laugh shouting you 'chants' at each other like demented schoolboys,not funny unless we were going to see 'Carry on Essex Boys'. I found it crass and unnecessary, a bad idea because if you watched the extras first you were already expecting it would be odds on that the film was going to be rubbish..it was. A good Producer and Director would have stopped that nonsense, it degraded the cast and the crew to flippancy.We all know that morons swear a lot so leave it there, it was shocking when the 'Sex Pistols' did it over thirty years ago, not any more airheads. I just couldn't take these ham actors seriously after that. After the stupid bonus extras I watched the film...the weak script just carried it on until it became brain numbing. Right down to the copying of De Nero's putting the boot in, this lot just looked like cheesy amateurs doing a lot of hammish snorting, shouting and swearing in the guise of telling what was supposed to be a true story. I would think that O'Mahony could have directed it better than Sasha Bennett. At the end after two shots from a cut down 12 bore that would have put a horse's lights out, we are meant to believe Tate makes a dying hate filled rant at his assassin. Do us a favour! Talk about writers getting carried away..do they think we are all 'chants'. On a brighter note, I thought Vincent Regan and Keirston Wareing were good and as far as I remember also bright enough to stay out of the crass bonus stuff, smart thinking. However, Terry Stone is nothing more than an extra and Tam the Sham and Sasha Bennett would do well to watch the performances of Ray Winstone, Ian McShane and Sir Ben Kingsley. Spend a couple of weeks watching 'Sexy Beast' on a loop...that is acting, directing and screen writing.

Didn't know a third film had been made about this subject but whilst stuck indoors waiting on a delivery (DHL late again) I just watched Bonded by Blood. First impressions after having just viewed the film are that it was not very good. Not totally terrible but only really worth watching if you have absolutely nothing better to do and want something to occupy your interest.As has been picked up by one of the better revues of this film on here my main criticism is that the actor portraying Darren Nicholls (Adam Deacon) is annoying and unconvincing throughout. You spend a lot of the movie wanting to smack the petulant little fake scowl off of his face (the character not the actor) and you certainly don't empathise with him or indeed anyone else in the film.I also concur that Craig Fairbrass's portrayal of Pat Tate was more convincing and accurate than that of Tamer Hassan. Hassan's Tate seemed too considered (albeit still a bully, steroid using f##k up) at times when the reality is he was far from that. Not a terrible performance just not as good as the one that Fairbrass did where he nailed the character in Rise of the Footsoldier.The actresses used all seemed out of their depth if they were called upon to do more than be giggling fluff. I don't personally have a problem with that as this is a bloke's film and don't particularly want it ruined with dialogue about the wife's/girlfriends perspective. Suffice to say though the little acting that was required by any of the actresses was poor to awful. The only actress who was convincing at all was the "tart" in the nurse's outfit who was passenger in the car crash with Tate (Hassan). I liked Neil Maskell's performance as Craig Rolfe, and this was a lot closer to reality than the one portrayed in Rise of the Footsoldier by Roland Manookian, although I don't necessarily think that was down to bad acting by Roland, just that the character was different (inaccurate?) in that script. Terry Stone rocks up once again to play Tony Tucker and although his first attempt in Rise of the Footsoldier was a bit too cartoon this version seems a little undecided? To be fair I'm not going to criticise the fella as he is still learning his game in the acting world and how many different ways can you portray a one dimensional character like the fictionalised Tony Tucker? I'm sure the script called for more of the same but lose the wig.Finally the Bernard O'Mahoney character played by Johnny Palmiero seemed totally miscast? It's not that it was a terrible performance by Palmiero but that it bore absolutely no resemblance to the real Bernard O'Mahoney in accent or stature. I much preferred reading Bernard O'Mahoney's books than watching this film. I give the film 4/10. Just my opinion and I suggest you watch it yourself and make your own mind up. If you have the time spare of course.

Apparently this is movie is the truest depiction of the story of what happened to the 'Essex Boys' back in the mid nighties. It's definitely a lads action movie, but you'd expect that from the name.A slow start, as you got to grips with the characters and their relationships with each other, but it soon hots up, with plenty of action.From what i've heard and previously read it seems to be a fair account of what happened, and although it's a movie i'd like to think the portrayal didn't sensationalise what actually happened.Thoroughly enjoyed it, and would definitely watch again.