Dead Man Running and Punchlines: A Movie Review

Writers: Alex De Rakoff and John Luton.

There have been a lot of crime thriller exports from the UK in recent years including: RocknRolla, Jack Says, Layer Cake and The All Together. Dead Man Running is definitely in this category and while the film is enjoyable to watch, the film does not add anything new to this genre. The film stars Tamer Hassan, no rookie to the crime thriller, Danny Dyer, as comic relief and Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent. Described as a "larky caper filled with geezers, shootahs and maappets" (Mirror), Dead Man Running is an above average crime drama, with some comedic lines thrown in for punch.

The film's premise is simple really, as Nick (Hassan) is 100K in debt to a local loan shark (Jackson). This playing it straight ex-criminal is given 24 hours to pay-off his debt. Otherwise, his mum (Brenda Blethyn) will be taking her next nap six feet down. Then all types of low-life activity gets underway, with Nick now co-piloted by Bing (Danny Dyer), selling drugs, evading police, and gambling to gather the scratch.

Hassan plays the straight-laced, sneering thug under the gun with charm and style, while the minor role filled by Dyer is the more entertaining watch of the two. The running joke of a ski-trip to Dubai is a little flat, but many of the jokes involving doped track dogs, a gun toting mum, and some of the double-crossing drug deals prove more laughable. This terrible twosome are the butt of much of the comedy, with Hassan slightly shier in this department.

This is an independent production from Next Generation TV and Film and there are no technical drawbacks, but criticisms involve the film's shortness, and the lack of menace in the film. Jackson appears early as Thigo to set up the path of the film and then he disappears until the end. Thigo controls the events indirectly through his cronies; however, there is never a mano et mano confrontation between this small time villain and the trying to do good, but often failing, Nick. Also, the eighty minute runtime seems slightly unsatisfying, with Dead Man Running only providing the minimal requirements in length.

The Canadian based distribution company Phase 4 Films has just released this entertaining ride on DVD August 17th to North America and fans of UK shot crime thrillers will fancy this one as well: "if you liked... Snatch, Lock, Stock, etc., etc., you'll like this one" (Mirror).

Overall: 7 out of 10 (-1 for shortness, -1 for Hassan requiring a little more facial acting, -1 for too little screen time involving the villain).

Dead Man Running at Phase 4 Films:

Phase 4 Films Page for Dead Man Running

The film's official website:

Dead Man Running Homepage

A review of the Digital Spy:

Dead Man Running at Digital Spy

Reviewed at the Mirror:

Dead Man Running at the Mirror