Age Of Kill (2015)

Let me begin by saying I really don't delight in rubbishing the work of anyone who's had the guts to make a movie. In this case, however, I feel the need to stick my head out of the trench.I'll start with the hero: Martin Kemp isn't a bad actor, but I suspect he got the role because he looks more like an action hero than the others. And the antagonist, well, despite the voice-changer, I recognised Phil Davis' voice within two lines of dialogue - which left me asking "how is he in two places at once?" throughout almost the entire film. I only thank the director for not making it Dexter Fletcher or I may have left the film to fulfil a subconscious desire for a Big Mac (that's not a reflection of Dexter's acting - it's just I'm reliably informed he does the V/O for McD's TV ads).There are several glaring errors with the concept of Sam Blake being ex-special forces, not least that he chooses to take down a target from a multi-story car park, in the middle of the day. He is then so surprised by the appearance of Mr and Mrs Average, returning to their car, he completely loses his composure, makes a big scene and wheel-spins out of the building leaving two frightened and confused eyewitnesses and - more importantly - his spent cartridge case (or evidence, as forensic services like to call it).But the biggest fail, in my opinion, was him walking into a battle-cruiser (boozer) carrying his lo-tech sniper rifle (albeit in a flight case), following his mark into the karzy (toilets) and going through a very prolonged punch-up with him; in black ops terms, the equivalent of strapping a large number of pots, pans, bells and cymbals to your kit before commencing a covert op. After he's finally managed to neutralise the target, he comes back out of the bogs (toilets) and is recognised by one of the customers. He immediately pulls out a Glock (never heard of a silencer, Mr Green Beret?) and leaves the nuclear sub (pub) with no sign of the big black gun case with which he had arrived - presumably a bit of a handicap for a crack-shot sniper with several target left on his to-do list.It's not all bad. Nick Moran provides a very convincing right-wing anti-immigration activist and, despite the hole in the plot described previously, Phil Davis gives us a very convincing baddie. I wish I had more good things to say, but I really don't. Sorry.

Sam Blake (Martin Kemp who is OK) a professional sniper, is forced to run around London killing people because his daughter is being held hostage by a man with a heavily disguised voice. Which sounds promising but the execution (no pun intended) of the film is not exciting and the big reveal of the villain's identity is flat as it was easy to spot who it was going to be in the first fifteen minutes. In the end it was difficult to know what it was about and understand the motives of the villain.There are fine actors like Patrick Bergin, Dexter Fletcher, Phil Davis and the legendary Bruce Payne in it but they are not given much to do. The rest of the cast don't shine, particularly the actress who plays the Detective Inspector in whining child mode. All credibility evaporates when she is on screen. The time of the action pops up on screen now and then but it doesn't really add to the suspense. It just made me keep looking at my watch and wandering when it would end. And getting around London is much harder than the film tries to makes out!

Review: My expectations for this movie wasn't that high because the critics gave it a bad write up and after watching it, I must admit, it is pretty poor. The acting isn't that great and the storyline was awful. Its about a special ops agent who is blackmailed to take out various people because the baddie is holding his daughter. Another lady is also performing various acts because her uncle is being held by the baddie so they go around killing random people to save there loved ones. I was quite impressed with Martin Kemp in the Krays but his acting in this film was pretty poor. There is some intensity throughout the movie because he has a time scale to take out his victims but the action is terrible and I wasn't that interested in any of the characters. There are a couple of twists, which were also pretty poor, but Martin Kemp does have the potential to become a good actor. He just needs to pick a decent film. Anyway, the concept wouldn't have been that bad if it was made in America but from a UK point of view, the script needed a lot of work and there wasn't any depth to any of the characters. In all, it's just another movie from the UK which is a big disappointment. Round-Up: At 53 years old, Martin Kemps claim to fame has to be his role in the Krays and Eastenders. He also had a promising career as a guitarist in Spandau Ballet so his career has had its ups and downs. After suffering with a major illness, his career was put on hold and he hasn't been able to come back into the spotlight. That's not to say that he is a bad actor because I do like his performance in the Krays but after making some bad choices, I really can't see him hitting the fame that he hit earlier on in his career. The film was made by a Welsh, 34 year old director, Neil Jones, who has only made 9 small films in his career. He had quite a good cast to work with on this project but he really didn't get the best out of the actors. For such an intense storyline, I wasn't really that convinced by the actors, from an emotional point of view, which can only been blamed on the director. On the plus side, it is quite short and it's non-stop from the beginning to end so it doesn't drag.I recommend this movie to people who are into their intense action/thrillers about a special ops agent who is blackmailed to take-out various people. 2/10

Well, I have now seen the film so its time to share my thoughts with you about the film.I've seen many 'reviews' and quotes that are comparing the film to a movie version of the Kiefer Sutherland series '24' and whilst I can kinda see that being applicable. Age Of Kill is Age Of Kill. yes it does have a military man Sam Blake (played by Martin Kemp) whose daughter (played by Dani Dyer) is snatched to be used as a blackmail tool against Sam Blake. Its not set in real time. Isn't 18 and a half hours long (that's how long 24 was without adverts) and isn't an insane over the top super agent action series. (By the way I'm a huge fan of '24')Age Of Kill is an hour and a half journey into Sam Blake's life, as well as that of his past and his present. Himself and his family. The action set pieces work well with no issue. Gun battles, explosions and such like do exactly what they need to do and what they promise to do. Martin Kemp is on form as more action star than some roles he has previously done and I can see him with a future in the action genre. Martin Kemp has always been a watchable, charismatic guy from his early days, and even when watching him on television being interviewed, He is always someone you find interesting to listen to. So its with no shock that his scenes in Age Of Kill are of course - watchable and engaging.For me the highlights of the film though are easily the scenes he shares with some of the other cast. When Martin Kemp and Phil Davis share the screen, they are wonderful and you do want to see more of that. More so with the scenes involving Martin Kemp and Dani Dyer which just has wonderful chemistry to it, and once again, l wanted to see the scenes play out longer and see Dani in more scenes. She has a fantastic future ahead in film and shes definitely an actress to keep an eye on.But those aren't complaints against the film or the story. I cant fault a film for not including more scenes, that's just a preference. All praise goes to the cast, and of course to writer Simon Cluett for creating this world of Sam Blake, and Director Neil Jones for putting these characters together for us, the viewer. Does Age Of Kill give us anything totally unique that we haven't seen before in film. No, but it doesn't try to. It gives us an hour and a half of entertainment with a great cast. That's what I need from a film and a story. One that engages me with characters that I enjoy watching. Job well done. There is a plot line involving somewhat radical politicians which did feel like the sort of storyline that I have seen in several other films of late and which did sort of feel a little out of place in Age Of Kill, but putting that small detail aside. I really enjoyed Age Of Kill and look forward to not only the next film that Neil Jones directs, but also other scripts created by Mr Simon Cluett.(Bonded by Blood 2)