Ten Dead Men (2008)

Ten Dead Men is like a B+ film school project. Most of the filmmaking is low-budget and elementary but competent. The storytelling is a little better than that, though it's marred by a few too many things that make no sense at all. The acting is perfectly acceptable, even with a lead actor that has all the on screen personality of a throbbing boil. The action scenes are thoroughly energetic, sort of like crossing The Transporter with the Mortal Kombat video game. Basically this British revenge flick is like a dollar store version of one of those countless American action films from the 1980s, with just a bit more imagination.Ryan (Brendan Carr) is a mob hit man who left his life of crime to be with his girlfriend (Pooja Shah). He's forced back into his old life, however, and crosses his old boss (Terry Stone). That results in his girlfriend being killed in front of him and Ryan being left for dead. He, in a completely inexplicable and irrational manner, recovers and starts hunting down the ten men responsible for destroying his new life. What follows are action scenes that are as over-the-top as you can get when your movie has a budget of about 13 pounds, more flashbacks than you can shake a stick at and acts of retribution that range from the mundane to the ridiculous.To say the narration is the best part of Ten Dead Men may sound like I'm damning it with faint praise, but Doug Bradley guiding us through Ryan's tale of vengeance like he was telling his children a bedtime story is very inviting. It draws you into a story that is otherwise unexceptional and helps get you past those points where the film tosses logic and plausibility into the rubbish bin.Now, there's no getting around how cheap-looking this thing is. The judicious use of computer effects does give a kick to some of the acts of violence, but Ten Dead Men looks more like it was filmed by a talented group of friends with a video camera and a tripod than it does a professional production. At times it looks fine, but other times it really seems like these filmmakers did not know what they were doing.If you're looking for a non-stupid, bloody and violent movie, and don't mind substandard production values and the occasional bit of nonsense, check out Ten Dead Men.

If you only give a film 3 minutes then I don't think you can call yourself a film fan and shouldn't really review it. There's some truth that its clear the film was shot on a low-budget but it doesn't take long to forget that and get into a very thrilling story that keeps up a good pace throughout and has some genuinely surprising twists in it. I enjoyed this film. The fight scenes are very well done and the script is well written, balancing flashbacks with the present as well as unravelling the motive behind the confrontations. There are a lot of million-pound budget action films that are predictable and boring, you won't be saying that about this film.

caught an early screening of Ten Dead Men and was impressed by this low budget action film. gritty, violent and packed with knuckle dusting action, Ten Dead Men harks back to the old school days of action films when violence was dished out frequently and the bad guys got what was coming to them. for a low budget flick, the acting was decent, the directing and script tight and the action full on. it may not be glossy but it's a hell of a lot of fun and a good tough as nails British action film. the film is also packed with a number of real life fighters and action cinema regulars so there is plenty for the fight fan to enjoy. check it out.

I saw this at the first UK screening and it's not my usual type of movie, although I've seen plenty of low budget action films with friends. What makes Ten Dead Men stand out though, is that it refuses to conform to type. Sure there's some fights, and pretty good ones at that, but you don't have to love action to enjoy it. I got really involved in the story and cared what happened to the characters, which doesn't happen very often in an action flick. At first I wasn't sure about the narration but it really draws you in and adds something to the story - it isn't lazy writing, as is often the case with voice-over, but a decision about the direction the film will take and I think it's better for it.The action is superbly done and the kind you don't see in big budget films anymore coz they're too busy doing bullet time and flashy quick cuts. In Ten Dead Men, it actually seems like people get hurt - the fight in the garage is especially good. It's a pretty violent film all the way through, but actually after the opening it's not too graphic - most of it is suggested rather than shown.The performances were great and The Project Manager was a particular favourite of mine; but I also liked the two crooks who provide some much needed light relief. Most viewers of this film won't be at all bothered that the women in it are props rather than characters, it's a bit of a testosterone-fest but I can't help feeling that's the target audience anyway.So recommended viewing if you love a bit of violence and action with a story to go with it; sort of The Crow meets The Krays. I'd be interested to see what the team behind it come up with next.