Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

In the recent glut of British gangster films spurred on by the success of LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, GANGSTER NO. 1 stands out head and shoulders above the rest by being a serious, frequently disturbing little movie which offers up oodles of tension and some top-notch acting. Throwing aside the slick, stylish silliness of other offerings, this is a very dark-souled film which acts more like a character study than a conventional crime flick. Obvious comparisons are to be made with everything from GET CARTER to SCARFACE, and although the influences are there, this film has enough originality to stand up on its own as a minor classic.The lead role is played by two actors (playing both younger and older versions of the same character). Paul Bettany is superb as the young twisted gangster, giving an understated performance of brooding tension and anger which erupts in a disturbing murder scene in which the camera mimics a man repeatedly fading in and out of consciousness. Bettany has some fine dialogue "look into my eyes" and is one of the scariest screen sadists I've ever seen; not sure why he wasn't more acclaimed for his portrayal but it's smashing stuff. The inimitable Malcolm McDowell plays his older self with his usual trademark fiery/frightening intense stuff and is also ace. The supporting cast are all fine, from David Thewlis as the laid back leader to Saffron Burrows as the love interest and Kenneth Cranham as a bodyguard.For a change the violence is used for a reason rather than just being excessive (although there's nothing wrong with that in my book); a simmering undercurrent of unsaid menace is what makes the film riveting to watch. Take for example the scene where Bettany extracts information from a man in his kitchen; at any minute you expect him to grab his axe and chop the guy's arm off; at the same time you are glued to the screen but want to look away because it's so intense. The ending also twists things around, showing the lie that McDowell's life has been, and is smashing. With its non-stop swearing and brutal violence, Gangster No. 1 is not going to be a film to everyone's taste, but if you can get over those boundaries then I'm sure you'll realise what an intelligent, complex little film this is.

I thought Gran Torino was the worst film I'd ever seen based on awful acting, hilarious dialog and as a vehicle for a has been, but this film makes Gran Torino look like Ghandi. You know you are watching a bomb when you are laughing at a film that's not meant to be a comedy, as was the case with Gran Torino, but when you stop laughing and have the urge to cry, then you are watching Gangster No. 1. Malcolm McDowell has to be the worst actor that ever walked the earth. I would advise anyone who values a good script, a good screenplay, and most of all decent acting, to avoid this film like they would avoid a particularly noxious disease. I never thought I would see a film that makes Gran Torino look good, I've found it!

I loved this movie soooo much! I was first introduced two thirds into it and I was immediately ready to sit down and watch it at three in the morning staying up till five am. The way it is shot is like pure genius! There is a scene in it that is shot from the perspective of the person being murdered and I mean it is aw inspiring! Seriously if it weren't for the way this movie ended it it would have been a 10 on my voting. Point in fact though the ending isn't horrible it just leaves a little to be desired. NON-SPOILER ALERT about the ending, they use a different person for the main character as the older version, but everyone else plays themselves just with makeup....(Don't get me wrong the guy they got 'Malcolm McDowell' to play as the older gangster is the best narrator and therefore carries the movie, but it's just weird and very hard to over look) Not to mention Paul Bettany who is a genius in this movie as well! My god the man can play psycho! All and all a must watch and a pass on to any friend who is in the mood to see a great flick!!!!!

This film is based in the 1970's a fictional gangster joins a gang and slowly begins to rise above all his fellow criminals; which is narrated by the older self. Bettany is the best thing about this film he has a creepy vibe to him, his psychopathic, almost sexually depraved Gangster.No 1.The characters are traditional cockney gangsters, in everything they do and say; the violence is brutal and violent...As the film goes on you realise Gangster No.1 is almost obsessed with Freddie and as Karen emerges Gangster almost becomes jealous....a good film with great character development..but no real story behind the film...