Mafia movies are always somewhat confusing. They move very quickly, so it's hard to keep track of the timeline, and they introduce characters so quickly, that at times it's hard to keep track of who's who. Sometimes you have to watch a good mafia film a couple times, just so you can pick up on everything, but with Essex Boys, you'd be lucky to make it through the film just once. If the fast pace of the movie and large cast weren't confusing enough, add thick British accents to the mix, and it's hard to know what's going on. Sean Bean is a favorite of mine, especially when he's playing a bad guy, but there is so much back and fourth between different factions in this film, that I'm not so sure he was the bad guy. In fact, I'm not too sure of anything with this film. To me, Essex Boys was just one big confusing mix of gangsters double crossing and shooting at each other, the whole thing just didn't make a whole lot of sense at all. It really was a difficult film to watch and apparently, according to the other poor reviews, I'm not the only one who thinks so. Despite all that, not one, but two sequels have been made to this film. I am just bewildered by the whole thing, and my best advise is that even if you are the biggest mafia movie virtuoso in the world, this is a film you should definitely skip.

Based on the triple rettondon murders that shocked England in the mid 1990's this retelling takes liberty with some of the facts and changes the names of the people it's based upon (something Bonded by Blood and Rise of the Footsoldier didn't) Jason Locke, a psychotic ex-convict recently released is driven around his old manor by a young cabbie called Billy Reynolds, he finds that in his absence all of his old friends and associates have got rich and successful, he sets about getting back on top with the help of his crew, Billy, and his long suffering wife.As the deranged Locke, Sean Bean rises above an underwritten character and gives a (at times) excellent performance, the script holds him back from really digging anything too deep out of his character but he handles the material well, Tom Wilkinson is used sparingly but to great effect and Alex Kingston is great as the wife whose not all she seems.Direction is straghtforward and doesn't detract, the editing is great and the crisp cinematography captures the seedy underbelly of the Essex underworld to good effect.Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, 7/10

essex boys is a gritty and voilent movie about drug dealers in the essex underworld and is told through the eyes of their driver. the story is inspired by the rettendon range rover murders, but those looking for the real facts go watch rise of the footsoldier(brilliant film) but never the less the basic storyline is pretty much the same, they haven't used real names and they have included a few things of their own, but it's still pretty much the story of how and why these 3 gangsters were found in a range rover one morning, its no masterpiece but it delivers the goods you would expect from a British gangster movie, and if you are interested in the rettendon range rover murders its definitely worth a watch, however if you want to see the real true story of the essex boys go watch rise of the footsoldier its accurate in every detail, and possibly the most voilent gangster movie ever made. there are three other movies based on the essex boys and the range rover murders namely 2007's rise of the footsoldier, 2010's bonded by blood and 2013's the fall of the essex boys

O.K. first off, I hated the film but gave it a 7 score which is fairly high - solely because of brilliant performance by Sean Bean.Lots of very graphic rape, domestic violence, battered women get knocked around, horrible stuff, gangsters throw acid into face of guy.If you want to see a similar movie with Sean Bean, but not so disturbing and violent check out "Fools Gold" which is based on the same kind of character, but not as horrifically violent.Really quite sordid. But its based on a true story from real life and very authentic. I also really liked Alex Kingston and Tom Wilkinsons performance. It was Oscar level work from Sean Bean and gosh, I'm sure tired of Bean-o getting typecast in so many sociopathic villain roles - he's sexy to die for and can do all kinds of roles, not just the "Man You Love to Hate" as the baddie villain.This is a visceral, ferocious, raw to the bone, flammable white hot smokin' tour de force performance by the most magnificent Sean Bean. It is a testament to the phenomenal power of his acting that even in a gruesome film which I really loathed, I could watch it to the very bitter end spellbound and mesmerized. Sean Bean could recite the telephone book in Swahili and make it to the level of Sir Laurence Olivier reading Shakespeare.Colleen in California