Rating: B-
Dir: Nathan Shepka
Star: Nathan Shepka, Colin MacDougall, Graeme MacPherson, Tony Macdonald
As I get older, I’m gradually coming to the conclusion that I prefer my cinema a little rough around the edges. It feels like the bigger the budget, the more likely it is that all trace of character will be ground off by the Hollywood sausage machine. What’s left will typically be highly polished, to within an inch of its cinematic life, and as forgettably bland as a “hot” supermarket curry. Then there’s something like this, which Shepka wrote, directed, starred in, edited and, I imagine, made the sandwiches. It’s the auteur theory of film, writ large and applied to a movie largely concerned with shooting people. Or occasionally, for variety, punching them in the face.
This is a follow up to Shepka’s debut feature, Holiday Monday, though I only saw that afterward. Probably doesn’t matter much, except it might explain how independent security consultants Nick (Shepka) and Derek (MacDougall) are cheerfully allowed access to sensitive information, and allowed to help out on matters of national security. In this case, it’s a sting operation against arms dealer Miles Steiger (Macdonald), and his 3D-printed weapons. This has gone wrong, resulting in the capture of undercover agent, Andy Stokes (MacPherson), a pal of Nick and Derek’s. They won’t stand for that, so go after Miles, only to find out quickly, things are not as simple as they seem. There’s a mole in the department, and Steiger is largely a front for the mysterious “Chess Master”.
Those rough edges include bad CGI blood (better off not bothering at all), gun battles where no glass is harmed, and background players who sometimes neither look nor act convincing. This is potentially a result of the talent pool for those smaller roles being the maker’s friends and family. I’ve been involved in making low-budget cinema, and know that struggle is real, folks. So these kind of things had me nodding in sympathy, rather than snorting derisively, and to some extent, they enhance the positive aspects. For instance, the martial arts here are often well-staged and shot, such as the fight between Derek and the Chess Master. I preferred them to the gun-play. I mean, it’s Britain: you have a perfect excuse for the convenient absence of firearms.
This probably does run a bit long, as films often seem to when the director and editor are the same person. In particular, it goes on for another 10-15 minutes that seemed almost superfluous, after I felt it could have ended. I may have wandered towards the kitchen, and listened to the dialogue from there. That washing-up wasn’t going to do itself. For the first hour and a half though, I was amused, to a degree which genuinely impressed me. Once more, it’s clear that Shepka has improved significantly, leaving me very interested in seeing what’s to come. Certainly, on an “entertainment per budget dollar” level, and providing you don’t need that dazzling cinematic polish, this blows away many far bigger movies.
The film is out in the US on DVD and VOD now.