Review of Hardmen

Introduction

This film was released in February 1997, but it must have sunk without a trace since I don`t know anyone who claims to have heard of it. Sinking without a trace isn`t always the sign of a bad film though.

The story, whilst not sounding original, seems like it might hit the right notes with Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie fans, with some "debt collectors" going round collecting debts, and administering extreme violence to those who don`t pay.

The cast aren`t exactly household names - Ross Boatman (who was in London`s Burning for 7 years), Vincent Regan and Lee Ross (neither of whom have exactly set the world on fire with their performances to date). The only real name here is "Mad" Frankie Fraser, in his only big screen role. In case you`re not up to speed on your East End villains, he was a notorious criminal and friend of the Krays.

Video

If you read the box, you`ll get confused. It claims that the film is presented in a ratio of "4:3 (1.77:1)". Only one of these ratios can be true. And unfortunately, it`s 4:3, a pan`n`scam transfer.

What you do get is of reasonably good quality, so the only real complaint is that so much of it is missing because somebody didn`t want to give us a proper transfer. There isn`t very much dirt, colours and contrast are ok (even though it all looks a bit low budget), but other than that it`s fine.

As for the visual appeal of the film itself, it`s all rather stereotyped, with scenes in seedy strip clubs, vice dens and all night cafes. There are a few nice time lapse shots, but this is really a by-the-numbers gangster film.

Audio

Given the lack of effort to get a widescreen transfer, you`ll be unsurprised to learn that this is just a DD2.0 stereo soundtrack. There is some good stereo separation at times, but it`s nothing to write home about.

Look out for some rather dodgy and wavering accents, a bit of French (without subtitles, so you might not understand it if you don`t speak the language), a very annoying "make the characters sing a song" bit, and also a soundtrack that rather blatanly rips off Pulp Fiction.

Features

Do you really expect anything? Well, there is a trailer, a gallery and some brief filmographies. None of them are really worth bothering with though.

Conclusion

I said in the introduction that "sinking without a trace isn`t always the sign of a bad film". I`m afraid that statement is utterly wrong in the case of this film. Just looking at some of the blurb on the case shows how desparate they are to make you want this film:-

"More than equal to anything Tarantino might have done" - this should read "blatantly rips off many things that Tarantino has done". From the soundtrack (some borrowed from Pulp Fiction) to some of the dialogue (a rip-off of the "Madonna" speech), it`s all been done better by someone else.

"These blokes make Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday look like Andy Pandy" - Andy Pandy would make a more convincing villain than any of "these blokes", perhaps with the exception of Fraser, who actually was a villain!

I`m afraid that this film was utter dross. It obviously sunk without a trace for a good reason. Is it any wonder that the British "film industry" gets a bad name when it turns out something like this? It`s so stereotyped and formulaic that you don`t even need to watch it to know exactly what`s going to happen. The only good thing is that it`s relatively short.

I can`t imagine why you`d want to buy this, as the film is so bad. If that doesn`t put you off, then the pan`n`scam transfer surely will. Couple that with a stereo soundtrack and worthless extras and you have a DVD that doesn`t deserve to sell a single copy, even at £12.99.

Avoid. Please.