The Heavy review

An impressive cast fails to set this run-of-the-mill gangster flick

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Former boxer turned actor Gary Stretch (the leader of the local thugs in Dead Man’s Shoes) falls flat on his face in this ropey gangland drama.

As Mitchell ‘Boots’ Mason, an ex-con taking on One Last Job (ho-hum…), Stretch attempts to out-glower bent copper Vinnie Jones, Stephen Rea, Christopher Lee, Adrian Paul and, er, Lee from Blue.

A dreary tale of shooters and stitch-ups padded out by sped-up footage of Piccadilly Circus set to pumping house music, this triumph of casting over quality might have passed muster in the early noughties next to Brit-bombs like Rancid Aluminium and Circus. But not anymore.

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Freelance Writer

Matt Glasby is a freelance film and TV journalist. You can find his work on Total Film - in print and online - as well as at publications like the Radio Times, Channel 4, DVD REview, Flicks, GQ, Hotdog, Little White Lies, and SFX, among others. He is also the author of several novels, including The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film and Britpop Cinema: From Trainspotting To This Is England.