Layer Cake: Movie Review

March 19, 2006 - "Layer Cake" is the directorial debut of Matthew Vaughn ("Mean Machine"), who produced the Guy Ritchie (that's Mr. Madonna for those who don't know and probably don't care) films "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", and was set to replace Bryan Singer as director of the third X-Men film before backing out. "Layer Cake" is based on the novel of the same name by J.J. Connolly, and is the classic tale of a member of the criminal element, in this case a British drug dealer, XXXX (Daniel Craig, the new James Bond ["Munich"]), trying to pull off one last big score and then walk away for good. Standing in this way, his boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham ["Rome"]), his boss's old "pal", Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon ["Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"]), his colleagues, Morty (George Harris ["The Interpreter"]) and Gene (Colm Meaney ["Con Air"]), and, of course, his competition. The score? Two million pounds (the British currency, not weight) worth of Grade-A ecstasy. The problem(s)? Jimmy charging XXXX with finding Charlotte Ryder, the kidnapped daughter of Eddie Temple, XXXX's drawing the ire of a brutal Neo-Nazi sect, as well as some Serbian gangsters, and a whole slew of double crosses. The solution? What is one of several nicknames NBA star Allen Iverson went through before settling on The Answer?

"Layer Cake"'s just cool. There's really no other way to describe it. If it were beer, it'd be Colt .45. If it were cigarettes, it'd be Kools. If it were a man, it'd be Billy Dee Williams; a woman, Pam Grier. It's like a British blaxploitation film set in the present, a lot of flash with a message thrown in here and there for good measure. Slick beyond belief, stylish to the extreme, very, very, very, veeery visually inventive, plus plot-wise it manages to keep you on your toes and guessing throughout, "Layer Cake"'s got it all and a bag of chips, and not just any chips, not cheap-ass store brand chips. I'm talking Doritos here, or Pringles or something. You know, the good stuff. Oh, and if Daniel Craig's performance is any indication, the Bond franchise is in very good hands. Also, Sienna Miller's ("Alfie", "Casanova") hot. That's all.