It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Except it isn't. And it never was. Life up north in the 1970s -- and especially, England's Northeast -- was nothing like the monochrome wasteland presented here. Nor was policing like this, either, despite the protestations of those connected with this low-rent low-budget outing.Absent its premise, therefore, of hard men in hard times in hard places, "Harrigan" is no more than a straight-to-video made-for-TV affair, its simplicities of plot and characterisation conveyed via clichés so stupefyingly banal that one positively yearns for the raw energy of yesteryear's Caine and Hodges in the same part of the world at the same time as this."Harrigan" doesn't convince at any level. Stephen Tompkinson has already had a stab at playing a TV policeman -- the leaden "DCI Banks" -- and failed utterly in that role, so why he's here essaying the same kind of grim teeth-gritted stoicism all over again is baffling.About the only thing that does ring true is the way "Harrigan" -- too close to Don Siegel's "Madigan" for my liking, though it's doubtful anyone involved in this British production will even have heard of that superb US police procedural -- seems to have been shot on a budget typical of a 1970s British TV show.But that doesn't redeem anything. Unrelentingly drab, dismal, and derivative of a thousand B-Movies that have gone before -- including Westerns as well as copper operas -- "Harrigan" is yet another example, were such needed, of how small-scale British movie making is today incapable of working the crime genre in the way that films like "Violent Playground" and "Never Let Go" did, half a century and more ago.Still, at least there's some originality in the write-in campaign that seems to be underway where this comment thread is concerned -- a case for investigation by Detective Harrigan, perhaps? Or IMDb itself . .

For a movie that at first glance is going to be a vigilante cops just kicking ass, and taking back the streets, it sure has a hard time getting there. I really Enjoyed the way that this movie didn't insist that anyone was really safe as long as the bad people are in control. There are a lot of brave real people fighting a new battle every generation in the streets to keep us all safe all the time. This movie opens with a little bit of a quick update on the situation in the world, and you get caught off guard for the first time right there I'll bet. The acting is nothing short of excellent by even the lowest player throwing stones. The bitter world really feels cold. I would recommend this one, but it is very British, there is no Hollywood ending, and it feels like a really long episode of original Life on Mars, I was really expecting to hear someone saying your nicked at one point even. Lots of violence, the language is really not so bad, but this one is not for kids, unless you need to smarten them brats up.

This really is a very worthwhile movie, good story line and quite believable.I don't understand earlier comments about the budget for this film and how it was spent, I have seen some real shockers for the same budget (Last Passenger for one, now that was a painful movie to watch with not an original concept anywhere).The characters are quickly developed and have reasonable depth.The script was nicely put together and not over-done.Dark and dreary was well portrayed as were the emotions of the situation.I would recommend this movie, an interesting watch.

On viewing this film you have to take into account thats it is an Indi production with a first time Director Vince Woods and entirely funded by individuals including lead cast then you watch the film and ask how did they make a period seventies film with riots and action scenes with such little resource. Had this been a French made film it would already have had awards . It is an unbelievably impressive film dark gritty and rough in the art of film making a real gem. Stephen Tompkinson takes the lead role in an untypical hard faced character that is very different to his recent TV roles but with support from Craig Conway as the disgusting paedophile criminal opposite its easy to take sides for the good and sit on the edge of your seat while the battle for control of the Newcastle streets between these two characters unfolds. I predict at least cult status for this violent and dark piece of policing history.