Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13142 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-07-09
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Outlaw is no easy film, with no easy answers. The latest from writer/director Nick Love, previously behind The Football Factory and The Business, it tells the story of a Britain overrun with crime, with no one willing to stand up to it.

Until, that is, a group of people--led by Sean Bean’s Bryant--decide to effectively take matters into their own hands. And so, with each of this group having their own reasons for their actions, they start to exact a form of revenge on the those who have wronged them, laying the scene for an interesting vigilante crime-thriller.

Amidst a fair cavalcade of at-times quite brutal violence, Outlaw has a real feeling and message at the heart of it. But you’d be hard pushed to say that the message is well handled, or that it’s the main reason for watching the film. Instead, the strengths are some of the performances (Bean is joined by the likes of Bob Hoskins, Lennie James and Dannie Dyer) and the increasingly confident direction from Love. At times it’s blistering to watch, no matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel.

Ultimately, though, Outlaw, in spite of its strengths, is a mixed bag, yet one with plenty to recommend it. It’s a well-made, diverting film, albeit not one for the squeamish, and while it’s got its fair share of flaws, you’re unlikely to be disappointed by it. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
A group of disillusioned citizens who have been the victims of crime decide to organise and take the law into their own hands. After returning to England after fighting in Iraq, Bryant (Sean Bean, THE LORD OF THE RINGS – THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING) relocates to London. He finds that the area he has moved to is in the grip of lawlessness. Fellow members of the community who have been subjected to criminal acts approach him and he decides to organise the men into a vigilante gang in order to restore justice to the streets. The gang, which includes Gene Dekker (Danny Dyer, THE FOOTBALL FACTORY) and three other members besides Bryant, are fed information on suitable targets by policeman Walter Lewis (Bob Hoskins, THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY), who has become frustrated at the state of affairs. Director Nick Love (THE BUSINESS) reunites with regular collaborator Danny Dyer to create this tale of urban frustration. Love’s central themes of manliness, rage and camaraderie are again explored here. Whereas previously Love focussed on football hooligans and members of organised crime, this time he attempts to gain greater empathy for his characters by making them the victims of crime. OUTLAW is a violent and brutal film that contains a message about the nature of vigilantism.

DVD Description
There will be no excuses. The guilty will be punished. No one is above Outlaw. A group of people who feel betrayed by their government and let down by their police force form a modern-day posse in order to right what they see as the wrongs of society.

Customer Reviews

Missed opportunity
Outlaw has the basic premise of a decent movie and is laced with topical resonance about crime and the police and governments lack of real will to solve the problem. However writer /director Nick Love whose previous films "The Football Factory" and "The Business" were similar tales of British tribal rituals , seems to get confused about what type of movie he is trying to make .Is it a form of social commentary about the imminent breakdown of society or is it just a vigilante thriller?
It's difficult not to conclude watching the film that Loves initial predilection may have been for the former but once the script has a character call Tony Blair a c*** it quickly descends into "Death Wish " territory .
We first see Gene Dekker( Danny Dyer) having a nightmare that revolves him having two shades of crap kicked out of him by a leering gang . It's not a good start , the sort of tabloid fear mongering that makes people think that every hoodie on the street is a potential mugger or murderer or both. He is also bullied at work but his problems pale next to that of barrister Cedric Munroe(Lennie James) whose wife and unborn child are threatened by henchmen of a crime lord he is prosecuting. This leads to a shocking crime that rips his world apart . Sandy ( Rupert Friend) wears his scars on his face, the result of an unprovoked near fatal beating by three men who have served a pitifully short time inside for their crime.
They feel drawn to ex-soldier Bryant who has left the army only to discover his wife is having an affair so he resorts to living in a half way house where he meets security guard Simon Hillier ( Sean Harris)They have an ally in serving policeman Walter Lewis , named in a sarky nod to Morse I presume, played by Bob Hoskins who sympathises with the men's predicament and hints at internecine corruption within the force. Bryant preaches about how society and the powers that be have let us all down , that the criminals have the upper hand and here it's hard to disagree with him but as he attempts to train his troops with rhetoric and physical jerks the film loses focus. Bryant forces the men to confront a gang of vicious racist thugs who pick on the groups most reluctant member Munroe. They get a good beating and from here on in Outlaw descends into endless bouts of male posturing , testosterone and irritating fast cut editing.
The characters and the story become ever more ridiculous culminating in a climatic gun battle that given that most of these men couldn't fight their way out of a marshmallow bouncy castle earlier is so ridiculous it enters high farce territory. The film has a "Carlitos Way" homage where a moment of perceived weakness comes back to haunt the men, but overall it handles the principle crudely and with as little social responsibility as the numerous miscreants it showcases, some of which Love based on actual incidents. The actors try their best but are let down by a lame script leading to the conclusion that is a film whose argument and convictions have been undermined by its very existence.

Not as bad as some reviews make out
I'm quite surprised by the number of negative reviews here. I found the film did a great job of evoking a sense of foreboding and threat, even in street scenes of day to day life. The camera work was first class, giving a stark reality to even the violent scenes.
The acting, especially from Bean was good, and none of the cast gave a particularly weak performance.
I wouldn't call this film perfect, but it was interesting enough to keep my attention for an hour and half.

Genuinely horrified
My first thoughts watching this film was 'hasn't the Daily Mail readership got a lot more rugged these days?' A disgruntled ex-serviceman played by Sean Bean has obviously been reading a copy on the plane home from Iraq - so creating the premise for one of the most genuinely shocking films I have seen in my life.

Outlaw is near the knuckle stuff. The film makes genuine comment about the prevalence of British yob culture, the moral ambivalence of the British tabloid press and, obliquely the pervasion of CCTV into our daily lives but weakens said 'message' by casting this sorry tale over the glamorous world of organised crime and police corruption.

From a cinematic point of view the plot consistently strays through the realms of fantasy and into the territory of the patently ridiculous and is further compounded by the nauseating effects of the constantly moving camera. The violence is too concentrated and glamorised to be truly shocking the characters are thin and morally ungrounded. The movie comes across as Lock Stock meets Taxi driver with neither the formers wit and charm nor the latter's strong lead and skillful delivery.

Horrific screenplay aside perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this movie are the social ramifications. By three quarter's distance this movie has clearly turned out to be just the sort of film that is oft aimed at the same 'thugs' that it sets out to daemonise. Could it be that the terrified middle classes are really clamoring to leap from their horrified pedestal and join the 'hoodies' that they so despise down in the gutter? Either this is one of the most brilliant pieces of subversive script writing in history or a Daily Mail reader's bit of rough and a true lowering of the ethical common denominator. My leaning is towards the latter and a quick watch of the DVD extras seems to confirm it.