Johnny Was (2006)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Mark Hammond

Writer:

Brendan Foley (writer)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Stop running. Face the future.

Plot:

Johnny Doyle escapes a violent past in Ireland to lie low in London, until his former mentor Flynn breaks out of Brixton Prison...

Plot Keywords:

Reggae | London | Irish | Gangster | Rastafarian

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 17

3:35 PM

SHOW

Cast

Vinnie Jones	...	Johnny Doyle
Patrick Bergin	...	Flynn
Eriq La Salle	...	Julius
Samantha Mumba	...	Rita
Lennox Lewis	...	Ras
Roger Daltrey	...	Jimmy
Laurence Kinlan	...	Michael
Wilson Jermaine Heredia	...	Sparra
Mark Asante	...	Nathan
Sam Sarpong	...	Skipp
Charles Porter	...	Diggs
John Fashanu	...	DJ Fash
Colin Stewart	...	Druggie
Emma Little	...	Cafe Waitress (as Emma Lyttle)
Gerard Carlin	...	Dead Junkie

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, pervasive language, drug use and brief nudity.

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

Ben Katz Productions

Trivia:

Lennox Lewis spent his honeymoon in Belfast filming the movie less than a week after the wedding in Jamaica.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the shootout scene with the police in chapter 10, the white police Vauxhall Vectra has the registration number ATM 874L, this is a 1972 registration and the car is clearly post 2000.

Movie Connections:

References Fantasia (1940)

Enjoyable

Only saw review DVD, but enjoyed it. Actually watched it twice, partly due to a really great reggae soundtrack, and liked it better second time.

While it is a bit rough at the edges, it has some great performances and a sort of quirky appeal. The idea of an unsafe safe house works well, and there is an interesting dynamic between Vinny Jones, Patrick Bergin and Eriq LaSalle. While it is a thriller, it does not take itself too seriously and I agree with the 'spagetti western' comments elsewhere. Nice twist in the ending and some good one-liners.

Jones gives a very solid performance a long way from his usual tough guy, Bergin is theatrical, but entertaining and Eriq LaSalle is powerful as a gangster who wants to be a businessman.

It zips along and the wall-to-wall reggae is first rate - must be about 30 or 40 tracks