Skip to main content
Games Radar Newsarama Total Film Edge Retro Gamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The smarter take on movies
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Winona Ryder in Stranger Things season 5
Streaming Services 6 new movies and shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus, and more (November 28-30)
Josh O'Connor as Jud Duplenticy and Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch this week
The entire Incredibles family running through a hallway during one of the best superhero movies of all time, The Incredibles.
Movies The 30 best movies on Disney Plus to watch right now
Taron Egerton in Carry-On
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise in It: Welcome to Derry
Movies The It factor: Why Hollywood can't get enough of adapting the works of Stephen King
The 30 best horror movies of all time: pictures from The Wicker Man, The Shining, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Hereditary.
Horror Movies The 30 best horror movies that will haunt you long after the credits roll
Russell Crowe in Gladiator
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
A House of Dynamite
Thriller Movies The 25 best Netflix thrillers to watch right now
Denzel Washington as David King in Highest 2 Lowest.
Apple TV Plus The 10 best movies on Apple TV to stream right now (December 2025)
Best anime movies: Chihiro and No-Face sitting in a train carriage during Spirited Away.
Anime Movies The 30 best anime movies to watch right now
Dust Bunny
Drama Movies Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny is a weird and wonderful tale with one important lesson: "Believe children"
Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson at gunpoint in The Long Walk
Drama Movies Hideo Kojima shares lengthy review of Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk, and it sounds like he's a huge fan: "It's a meta, philosophical film about friendship and growth"
Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper giving a thumbs up during Twin Peaks.
Streaming Services The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Bill Nighy in The First Omen
Amazon Prime Video The 10 best Amazon Prime horror movies to watch right now
Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Sebastian Hansen in A Minecraft Movie
Amazon Prime Video The 25 best movies on Amazon Prime to watch right now
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

20 Films Improved By Mike Leigh

Features
By Simon Kinnear published 3 November 2010

Hollywood reimagined by the sultan of suburbia

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Transformers (2007)

Transformers (2007)

The Original: Michael Bay's juggernaut of a movie about vehicles with the amazing power to turn into robots that look exactly like other robots.

The Leigh-make: Down-at-heel robot electrician Optimus Prime (voiced by Timothy Spall) discovers the "All Spark," a powerful device that enables him to compete with business rival Megatron (Eddie Marsan).

Key Scene: Optimus sets the All Spark to work, giving himself enough time to sit down for a nice cuppa.

Page 1 of 20
Page 1 of 20
Van Helsing (2004)

Van Helsing (2004)

The Original: Stephen Sommers' overblown attempt to tag-team the classic Universal monsters by throwing them simultaneously at Hugh Jackman's eponymous vampire hunter in a flurry of bad CGI.

The Leigh-make: Van driver Abraham Helsing (Jim Broadbent) is the town eccentric, trying to drive chavs off the estate to win the love of loca gypsy (Alison Steadman).

Key Scene: Helsing is brought before a magistrate for hitting a bunch of trick-or-treaters with a broomstick.

Page 2 of 20
Page 2 of 20
Aliens Vs Predator (2004)

Aliens Vs Predator (2004)

The Original: Paul Thomas Anderson's "two birds with one stone" slaying of classic sci-fi franchises. Whoever wins, cinemagoers lose.

The Leigh-make: A camping trip for Candice-Marie (Alison Steadman) and Keith (Roger Sloman) goes awry when the battling extra-terrestrials land in Dorset. Nuts.

Key Scene: Pedantic Country Code follower Keith wades in to an Alien/Predator scrap to reprimand the duo for making too much noise.

Page 3 of 20
Page 3 of 20
Die Another Day (2002)

Die Another Day (2002)

The Original: Franchise-wounding Bondage, as Pierce Brosnan's 007 battles with iceberg surfing, invisible cars, and Madonna as a fencing instructor.

The Leigh-make: Newly released terrorist hostage James (David Thewlis) becomes convinced he's a secret agent. Now his family must keep his mental illness under wraps.

Key Scene: James "drives" around town in his invisible car. In reality, he's shuffling along the road on his bottom in perpetual danger of being run over.

Page 4 of 20
Page 4 of 20
Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

The Original: Ed Wood's cult classic about aliens invading a town populated entirely by bad actors.

The Leigh-make: When the dead begin to rise from their graves, chiropodist Terry (Phil Davis) faces an outbreak of patients putting their backs out trying to carry them back to the cemetry.

Key Scene: Terry sees a flying saucer fly past his window, only to discover that it's an actual saucer flung over the garden wall by arguing neighbours.

Page 5 of 20
Page 5 of 20
Titanic (1997)

Titanic (1997)

The Original: James Cameron's Oscar-hogging flood-fest about an ill-fated romance aboard an ill-fated boat.

The Leigh-make: Boating lake employee Jack (Daniel Mays) falls in love with a rich customer (Sally Hawkins), only for their first date to go awry when their pedalo springs a leak.

Key Scene: Jack takes Rose to the front of the boat, 'cause it's the best vantage point to feed the ducks.

Page 6 of 20
Page 6 of 20
Street Dance 3D (2010)

Street Dance 3D (2010)

The Original: Flavour of the month Cowell-cash-in in which ballet dancers are taught to bust propah moves by Diversity and George Sampson.

The Leigh-make: Lesley Manville's boozed-up ballroom dancer gets a shot at redemption when she transforms a posse of street dancers into foxtrot specialists.

Key Scene: The kids' moment of epiphany, when they switch channels from Britain's Got Talent to watch Strictly Come Dancing instead.

Page 7 of 20
Page 7 of 20
The Avengers (1998)

The Avengers (1998)

The Original: Jeremiah Chechik's point-missing Hollywoodisation of the whimsical British spy classic, led by a baffled, miscast Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman.

The Leigh-make: Depressed banker John Steed (Jim Broadbent) pretends to be a secret agent to impress posh totty Emma Peel (Jane Horrocks).

Key Scene: At the local fete, a deluded Steed attacks a procession of performers dressed as teddy bears with an umbrella, reducing onlooking children to tears.

Page 8 of 20
Page 8 of 20
Suburban Commando (1991)

Suburban Commando (1991)

The Original: Hulk Hogan-starring family actioner about instellar warrior Shep Ramsey getting trapped in suburbia with Christopher Lloyd's white-collar square.

The Leigh-make: Hogan keeps his role, but this time he's stuck in the home of Beverly Moss (Alison Steadman), which means he's got to endure one of her awful dinner parties.

Key Scene: A pissed Beverly insists that Shep slow-dance to a Demis Roussos song.

Page 9 of 20
Page 9 of 20
Dungeons and Dragons (2000)

Dungeons and Dragons (2000)

The Original: Jeremy Irons puts his kids through college as the bad guy in the lame big-screen makeover of the classic role-playing game.

The Leigh-make: Back to basics. This version's about the original game, as regional champ Eddie Marsan meets his match in hot-shot newcomer Sally Hawkins. But can he overcome his shyness to deal with a woman role-player?

Key Scene: Against his mates' advice, Marsan comes to the first date dressed as a dwarf. Fortunately, Hawkins has come as an elf. What larks.

Page 10 of 20
Page 10 of 20
The Passion of the Christ (2004)

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

The Original: Mel Gibson's flay-tastic recreation of Jesus' last hours.

The Leigh-make: When the local council turns up to evict Jesus (David Thewlis), he nails himself to his house to stop the bulldozers coming in.

Key Scene: Mary Magdalene (Imelda Staunton) climbs up on a ladder to offer Jesus a sip from her Thermos.

Page 11 of 20
Page 11 of 20
Clash of the Titans (2010)

Clash of the Titans (2010)

The Original: Louis Leterrier's ill-advised remake of the Ray Harryhausen gods 'n monsters classic.

The Leigh-make: Days ahead of the flower show, a couple of unscrupulous growers (Broadbent, Steadman) send young gardener Perseus (Daniel Mays) to steal the rhodedendron bush of deadly rival Medusa (Imelda Staunton).

Key Scene: Medusa attacks Perseus with a garden hose.

Page 12 of 20
Page 12 of 20
Howard the Duck (1986)

Howard the Duck (1986)

The Original: George Lucas-produced failure to turn a horny alien duck into the next big kids' franchise.

The Leigh-make: Eccentric British comedy about a clumsy Mallard who ignites an affair between a widow (Brenda Blethyn) and a park ranger (Timothy Spall).

Key Scene: In a hilarious misunderstanding, Spall ends up in bed with the duck.

Page 13 of 20
Page 13 of 20
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

The Original: The Wachowski Brothers' muddled sequel to the bullet-time masterpiece: 50% overblown action, 50% verbose cod-philosophy.

The Leigh-make: In this early 90s period piece, lonely I.T. geek Thomas (David Thewlis) discovers a world beyond his imagination when he fixes the computer of pill-popping political activist Trinny (Jane Horrocks).

Key Scene: Thomas' mum (Alison Steadman) lets loose at an illegal rave in the Home Counties.

Page 14 of 20
Page 14 of 20
I Know Who Killed Me (2007)

I Know Who Killed Me (2007)

The Original: Lindsey Lohan's infamous attempt at more adult material, in which she plays stigmatic twins terrorised by a serial killer.

The Leigh-make: Sally Hawkins is a happy-go-lucky teacher whose life unravels when her long-lost twin sister (also Hawkins) turns out to be a misanthropic bitch.

Key Scene: Locked together in the school overnight, nice Hawkins has to listen to nasty Hawkins' ugly conspiracy theories, while a creepy janitor (Timothy Spall) stalks them.

Page 15 of 20
Page 15 of 20
Kickboxer (1989)

Kickboxer (1989)

The Original: Muy thai talented Jean Claude Van Damme kicks, boxes and writes the script. In retrospect, maybe the last of those was a bad idea.

The Leigh-make: Skinhead Gary Oldman is the local kickboxing champ who has to fight to help his poor family stay afloat.

Key Scene: After getting in yet another scrap, Oldman is giving a dressing down by his nan (Liz Smith).

Page 16 of 20
Page 16 of 20
Independence Day (1996)

Independence Day (1996)

The Original: Roland Emmerich's flag-waving vision of America defeating aliens on the 4th of July.

The Leigh-make: Timothy Spall's new American diner comes under threat from the local nimbies, who want him to make British food.

Key Scene: Spall sees the error of his ways and launches the rebranded restaurant - complete with fireworks - on Bonfire Night.

Page 17 of 20
Page 17 of 20
Alone in the Dark (2005)

Alone in the Dark (2005)

The Original: Uwe Boll's video game horror about Christian Slater's supernatural detective discovering things that go bump in the cinema when the audience walks out.

The Leigh-make: Eddie Marsan plays Edward Carnby, who discovers that an old folks' home is haunted by the ghosts of the dear departed (Brenda Blethyn, Alison Steadman and Ruth Sheen).

Key Scene: The staff think Edward's gone loco when he organises afternoon tea for the ghosts.

Page 18 of 20
Page 18 of 20
Twister (1996)

Twister (1996)

The Original: Jan De Bont spends all of his cash on the meteorological effects. There's none left for a script.

The Leigh-make: A family camping trip turns into a disaster when they spend the night playing board games. Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville and David Thewlis star.

Key Scene: Old secrets resurface when a "right hand red" brings Thewlis into an uncomfortable position.

Page 19 of 20
Page 19 of 20
Epic Movie (2007)

Epic Movie (2007)

The Original: Vintage Friedberg/Seltzer, this is the one spoofing any film that vaguely resembles an epic and/or was popular that year.

The Leigh-make: Leigh (playing himself) stars as an independent British director hired to make a Hollywood spoof, who causes alarm with studio executives when he starts secret rehearsals having not seen the films he's supposed to be parodying.

Key Scene: The execs watch the big Narnia set-piece, now transformed into a melancholy scene where Jane Horrocks finds a box of secrets and lies inside the wardrobe.

Page 20 of 20
Page 20 of 20
Simon Kinnear
Read more
The Wolf of Wall Street
Quentin Tarantino begins his best movies of the 21st Century list with a nuclear hot take: "I don't think Scorsese has made a film this exciting [this century]"
 
 
Josh O'Connor as Jud Duplenticy and Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch this week
 
 
Russell Crowe in Gladiator
The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
 
 
Speak No Evil
The 25 best Shudder movies, ranked
 
 
The Long Walk
The best Stephen King adaptations ranked, from Carrie to The Long Walk
 
 
Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Sebastian Hansen in A Minecraft Movie
The 25 best movies on Amazon Prime to watch right now
 
 
Latest in Movies
Rey in The Rise of Skywalker
Nearly 1000 days after it was announced, Daisy Ridley says Rey's Star Wars movie will be worth the wait
 
 
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple first reactions call the horror sequel "bonkers": "You will need a very strong stomach"
 
 
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four - First Steps
Fantastic Four fails to top The Marvels or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with the MCU's lowest Disney Plus debut
 
 
Russell Crowe as Maximus in Gladiator
Gladiator star Russell Crowe calls Gladiator 2 "a really unfortunate example" of a sequel not living up to the original
 
 
Moana in Moana 2
Netflix may have landed the winning bid for Warner Bros., but the streamer previously considered buying Disney instead
 
 
Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
One Marvel fan has found that the most unlikely trio makes up the Multiverse Saga's main characters based on appearances, highlighting the MCU's biggest issue
 
 
Latest in Features
Milano's Odd Job Collection
"I feel a strong need to prevent Japanese-style game development from being lost": 40-year games veteran argues Japan devs should make "unapologetically Japanese" games
 
 
An army attacks a fortified wall with a smoking breach in Total War: Three Kingdoms
The most influential Total War games, as chosen by 8 of its developers: "The team is incredibly introspective about our successes and failures"
 
 
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 protagonist Henry standing alongside a noble with a tower in the background
Despite censorship woes and the terrifying price of RAM, 2025 was the year I fell back in love with PC gaming
 
 
A child in a Christmas jumper holding Christmas lights in front of their face with a Christmas tree behind
These are the nerdy ugly Christmas sweaters I would actually wear
 
 
The Outer Worlds 2 screenshot showing companion Aza standing before a moon that hangs in the sky. GamesRadar+'s Best of 2025 logo sits in the top right-hand corner of the image
Obsidian hopes to stand alongside CD Projekt and Larian by making "best-in-class" reactive RPGs, says The Outer Worlds 2 director: "I don't know if we're there yet, but I'd love to get there"
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem trailer
10 predictions for The Game Awards 2025: Half-Life 3, Resident Evil Requiem, and more on Steam Machine please and thank you
 
 
  1. Key art for Skate Story showing the glass skater boarding through a dark underworld filled with spikes towards a door of light
    1
    Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
  2. 2
    Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
  3. 3
    Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
  4. 4
    Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"
  5. 5
    Routine review: "This imperfect but wonderfully atmospheric moon-based horror leaves a strong impression"
  1. Freddy Fazbear in Five Nights at Freddy's 2
    1
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  2. 2
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  3. 3
    Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
  4. 4
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  5. 5
    Predator: Badlands review: "Die-hard fans may be disappointed, but as a blockbuster action-adventure, Badlands kills it"
  1. Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in Stranger Things season 5
    1
    Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
  2. 2
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  3. 3
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  4. 4
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
  5. 5
    Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...