Despite good acting from a good cast, including Larry Lamb, Julie Walters and Phil Collins, the script is just too slow. The story is almost automatically interesting but a lot of points in it seem to be laboured and use multiple scenes to make the same point For example, 'June doesn't like Mexico' is gone over and over with no subtlety. It couldn't be done in fewer scenes because that part would look rushed, it just needed better- written scenes with more content than just the one point. The incidental music (not Phil's) doesn't really help, sounding like its trying to drum up atmosphere rather than help create it. All in all, it probably deserves a lot of the feeble 'greatest crime is that is got made' jibes thrown at it. Its still an interesting account of the robbery. But it comes from a time when British films started on recent period drama again and we got more and better films thrown our way, such as 'Scandal' and 'The Krays'. That led to 'Heartbeat' and the circle to the dark side truly was complete.

A few of the previous reviewers need to separate fact from fiction. Yes the robbery was nasty, as were most of the perpetrators, but the film itself is merely a semi documentary of man's life after the fact, coming to terms with it.Phil Collins plays an admiral Buster, and Julie Walters does well as his long suffering wife.At the end of the day it was an entertaining film with just enough highs and lows, laughs and tears and certainly better made than the other sixties villain flick "The Krays". Do yourself a favour, if somebody ever gives a one star review, look beyond it as they are usually extremely biased.

Well,the police did manage to make it stick without the poppy,very little was ever recovered but still a few big time and a lot of small time crims got a lot of bird dished out to them.Of the small time crims Buster Edwards has become a tacky legend thanks to the risible hagiographic movie "Buster",a contender for anyone's Worst Ever list. The big time boys,Roy "The Weasel" James,Douglas "Checker" Goody,Bruce Reynolds caught the headlines,lesser lights like Edwards and Biggs swanked in their reflected glory.Time has scythed down most of the train robbers,but it is aposite to point out that had Jack Mills died within a year and a day of their savage attack on him one or more of them might well have been hanged in accordance with the law at that time. Buster Edwards was nothing like Phil Collins.He was a thief who would have stolen the suit from your back(or your tailor's dummy). Robin Hood he wasn't.His wife June surely can't have been as grotesque as Julie Walters makes her,a Victoria Beckham for the sixties. It's hot in Mexico,not like the elephant at all.......there's a surprise. As I understand it Mrs Edwards was right at the front of the queue when nous was handed out.After her initial delight I'm sure she was appalled to see what a silly woman Miss Walters had turned her into. It must have been tough for Buster lying out there in the sun for all that time whilst all us mugs back in Blighty were breaking our backs to earn a living.My heart bleeds. So a dedicated career thug is turned by a popular singer into a chirpy cheeky cockney geezer wot loves his family and didn't mean anyone any harm.Yeah right. Add a few wishy - washy songs and you have sanitised a decidedly murky character,trivialised his crime and treated him as if he was a naughty puppy.Mix in a few spurious arguments about excessive sentences, government interference with the judiciary etc and you have the British film industry's considered take on one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century.Risible indeed.

Not since Olivier kicked the bucket some time in the 80's has a talent of such obvious majesty graced Britain's thespianic firmament. Phil Collins' performance as Great Train Robber Buster 'Buster' Edwards will surely go down in the annals of movie history when the final chapter of that weighty tome is written.From the moment he throws a brick at a window to steal a suit, to the final shot walking along a bridge with that woman from The Victoria Wood Show, Collins holds the attention of the viewer in a way not seen since De Niro's towering central performance in Taxi Driver. Or Frank Spencer's equally towering performance as 'Frank Spencer' in Condorman.Superb ... can't wait for Buster 2: On The Rocks where he hangs himself in a garage.