FIlm Review: Dead Man Running

Oct 27 2009 Surrey Herald

Danny Dyer and 50 cent star in this gritty London-based gang flick, writes Pierce Hunt

JUMPING on the recession bandwagon, Dead Man Running brings the global financial crisis to the big screen.

Recently released jailbird Nick (Tamer Hassan) has a serious cash flow problem. After borrowing money from a shady gangland boss, Thigo (Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson), to set up a travel agency with his best buddy Bing (Danny Dyer), he finds himself struggling in the credit crunch and, worst of all, Thigo has called in his loan.

The ridiculous buiseness Nick and Bing have based in the depths of south-east London, which offers ski holidays to Dubai, shows that Nick doesn't exactly exhibit the shrewd business sense he believes he has.

When meeting with Thigo, Nick is given 24 hours to raise £100,000 or his wheelchair-bound mother (Brenda Blethyn) will be killed.

Nick - with a little help from Bing - sets his sights on raising as much cash as possible by any means; whether that's bare-knuckle fighting, selling a huge hoard of

Class A drugs or being hired as a hitman.

Nick and Bing's Cockneytinged banter is relentless but, luckily for all concerned, the pair's on-screen chemistry works well and they supply enough comedic moments to warrant giving the film a chance.

Irritatingly, 50 Cent mumbles his way through the dialogue, making it hard to fathom what he's actually trying to say. And his lean physique is a million miles away from his beefcake gangster image. You get the impression that executive producers, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand (yes, the footballers), see the rapper as some sort of coup to get onboard, when in actual fact, he's one of the main factors that lets the film down.

Danny Dyer effectively plays the same character he has throughout his East End wide boy film career. But you wouldn't expect anything less. And, at times, he's even the voice of reason.

It would be easy to write off Dead Man Running, but you'd be foolish for doing so. It may be a tad predictable and the characters familiar, but it delivers an entertaining 90 minutes rather than milking it for more than it's worth.