Layer Cake [DVD] [2004]

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• This item: Layer Cake [DVD] [2004] DVD ~ Daniel Craig

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Amazon.co.uk Review
As its title suggests, Layer Cake is a crime thriller that cuts into several levels of its treacherous criminal underworld. The title is actually one character's definition of the drug-trade hierarchy, but it's also an apt metaphor for the separate layers of deception, death, and betrayal experienced by the film's unnamed protagonist, a cocaine traffic middle-man played with smooth appeal by Daniel Craig (whom you probably don't need reminding is the latest James Bond). Listed in the credits only as "XXXX," the character is trapped into doing a favor for his volatile boss, only to have tables turned by his boss's boss (Michael Gambon) in a twisting plot involving a stolen shipment of Ecstasy, a missing girl, duplicitous dealers, murderous Serbian gangsters, and a variety of lowlifes with their own deadly agendas. As adapted by J.J. Connolly (from his own novel) and directed by Matthew Vaughan (who earned his genre chops as producer of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch), Layer Cake improves upon those earlier British gangland hits with assured pacing, intelligent plotting, and an admirable emphasis on plot-moving dialogue over routine action. Sure, it's violent (that's to be expected) and not always involving, but it's smarter than most thrillers, and Vaughan's directorial debut has a confident style that's flashy without being flamboyant. This could be the start of an impressive career. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
As deeply cool and urbane as its unnamed hero, LAYER CAKE follows the precise, articulate XXXX (Daniel Craig) as he manoeuvres through what he intends to be his last business deal in modern-day London. His business...Drugs. On the cusp of turning 30, XXXX has amassed a personal fortune, deftly avoiding the violence and ugliness so many others in his trade fall prey to by following a strict personal code defined by discretion and clean detachment from the products he sells. Just as XXXX is poised to cash in and get out, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham), the top layer of this particular underworld cake, hands down two tasks: find Eddie Temple's (Michael Gambon) drug-addicted daughter, and unload a mass of ecstasy stolen in Amsterdam by the sloppy, loud Duke (Jamie Foreman), who is exactly the type of wannabe gangster that XXXX has spent his career avoiding. Further complicating matters is Tammy (Sienna Miller), a sexy young blond who XXXX meets in a club and can't get off his mind. First-time director Michael Vaughn (producer on SNATCH and LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS) brings a practised eye to the film, creating a slick, highly entertaining visual style which perfectly complements the twisting storyline. The London drug world comes to vibrant life in screenwriter J.J. Connolly's adaptation of his first novel, which retains its keen ear for slang and its eye for detail, giving LAYER CAKE a thrilling ring of authenticity. In the role of XXXX, Daniel Craig has a commanding presence, portraying a man who is so good at his job that he may never be permitted to leave it, regardless of how smart he is or how well he's planned. Like the best in the crime-thriller genre, LAYER CAKE is unpredictable, unsettling, and unforgettable.

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59 Reviews 5 star:  (32) 4 star:  (15) 3 star:  (4) 2 star:  (4) 1 star:  (4)           Average Customer Review 4.1 out of 5 stars (59 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   13 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!!!, 19 Jun 2005 By  I. Jelley "Jell" (Long Buckby) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I had so many fears watching this film that it would be one step too far for the makers of lock stock and snatch. How wrong i was. Expertly short, with more twists than your average slinky. The characters are once again top drawer, and they've also thrown in some of the cast from the previous films. Great Soundtrack ,gripping plot and fantastic ending force other films in my top ten to turn round and take notice of the new kid on the block. This film is a must for anyones collection. Move over Lock Stock. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   19 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, Intelligent Stuff For The Edge Of Your Seat, 21 Jun 2005 By  Malcolm Smith (North Wales, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This film suffers because it comes from the same stable as Lock Stock and Snatch. The reason it suffers is that people expect a Lock Stock 3. It isn't. There's a new director in the chair and the film is a lot darker and edgier than the other two. The first two were black comedies; this one isn't. This movie won't have large shoot-outs, but what it will have is a movie with a very strong undercurrent of fear going through the lead's final days in business before he retires. But, retirement is not going to be easy. Things start to go terribly wrong and one can feel the world coming out from under his feet as events outside of his control are starting to take over and things are going totally wrong. This is not a film where a grand comical shoot out occurs in the last scenes to leave the anti-heroes (they're all bad bad guys not nice bad guys, remember) with the girl and the loot as in Snatch or Lock Stock. Things have to be resolved their own way. The acting is wonderful; the characters (hoorah!) don't look like gangsters which is the whole point, despite complaints here to the contrary. The lead characters want to go through life without drawing attention to each other so there's no-one acting like cheap hoodlumns from Central Casting. There's a couple of wonderful touches and, in one of them, I take my hat off to FCUK for their bravery in one of the early scenes. Wonderful stuff. In short, a good film. Certainly the best British gangland film made so far; above Long Good Friday (even though nothing will surpass THAT ending) and Get Carter. And, a different film whatsoever to Lock Stock and Snatch. If you want a film which requires thought then get this one, if you want a Hollywood style mob film with a simplistic plot then get another. This is most certainly not a Saturday night no-brainer movie; this is a classic British film. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars A quality purchase., 21 Jun 2005 By  E. Mackintosh "lifedrinker" (Wales, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Alright, so there are comparisons to 'Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch' all over the place - but this film is nothing if not classy and slick. I particularly liked hearing a normal English accent amongst the Cockneys - rare in gangster films, unless we're talking rich idiots. I was confused to begin with but everything ties together (in the end). Well worth buying especially at such a good price! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 59 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best British gangster films I cannot recommend this film highly enough. I watched this purely by chance and was expecting something along the lines of Lock Stock or Snatch, which were enjoyable but didn't... Read more Published 3 months ago by S. Buckley 1.0 out of 5 stars Hope for a lot of icing as this cake dosen't taste so good The producers of Layer Cake tried very hard to shape this standard gangster fare into something fresh, cool and original. They failed. Read more Published 12 months ago by Mr. W. Searle 1.0 out of 5 stars snore very very boring british gangster movie that is no good and differant to countless other british gangster movies Published 13 months ago by martin thomas 5.0 out of 5 stars Great show, great cast One of Craig's better films and good to see Colm Meaney as a bad guy. Shows a side of the country that some people don't realise exists. Published 13 months ago by Aaron Mulholland 3.0 out of 5 stars Its alright.. Was looking forward to this film as i adore this genre, but i found myself slightly dissapointed, there wasnt really that much special about it, had some very poor acting... Read more Published 16 months ago by Mr. C. J. Kirby 5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Film I was unsure about watching this film as the cover doesn't look appealing, however once it got started I was hooked from start to finish. Read more Published 18 months ago by R. Benson 4.0 out of 5 stars cool daniel, nice siena different form other kind of maffia or firm movies, director choose the realistic and sarcastic way. i like it... main idea is: you only get what you give.... Published 23 months ago by ciko the kid 4.0 out of 5 stars WELCOME TO THE LAYER CAKE Things do not begin promisingly with this film. We're presented with a potted history of British Crime since the sixties by a narrator who, it turns out, is the film's (unnamed)... Read more Published 24 months ago by stuart 5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Bond. I have no liking for gangster films, and the characters in this are as a-moral as they come - yuppie drug-dealers and violent thugs. Read more Published on 15 May 2007 by mad_mushroom 5.0 out of 5 stars SLICK GANGSTER THRILLER WITH COLORFUL ACCENTS (FOR ME) Don't you love films where the hero is in fact an anti-hero with no name or backstory? Right, nor do I. Read more Published on 13 May 2007 by Shashank Tripathi Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 59 customer reviews...

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