this is the first movie inspired by the rattendon range rover murders.the others are (rise of the foot-soldier and bonded by blood) but this one is easily the best. tom Wilkinson is a great actor as he really flexes his acting skills in this movie and so does Sean bean the movie is great from start to finish and will keep anyone who is interested in British crime entertained. NOTE:there is a rape scene in the movie that did make me very nervous on watching the rest of the movie but I'm glad that i did because it really does have a dramatic ending witch did leave me shouting at the TV.if anyone enjoys this movie perhaps you should check out the books and other movies.rise of the foot-soldier is a bit too violent and bloody but is still good.bonded by blood is a little better that rise of the foot-soldier but not as good as Essex boys give it a go!!!

An entertaining work despite trying to do too much.They are trying to do a story based on an actual event then fictionalize it then try to make it in the stylized version of the U.K. gang films.There is an abundance of accents and moments that seem very familiar (as if they've been inspired by other movies).There is no lack of violence, nudity and swerves as required for a gangster picture but in all, I enjoyed watching it.It's not a classic but it's better than a lot of gangster flicks out there.I'm glad I gave it a shot.

For those who remember the actual triple murder in Essex which inspired the film, this carries an added edge of realism. The setting - the mock-tudor nouveau riche houses of the gangsters, the Southend seafront, the freezing marshes where Billy runs for his life, are as evocative, as the true-to-life performances of Sean Bean, Alex Kingston and Tom Wilkinson. It is refreshing to see a film which portrays the underworld in all its vindictive pettiness - the little slights which turn into murderous feuds - dozens poisoned by a rogue batch of E, a young girl, dead from an overdose, casually dumped at sea...The Hollywood view of Gangland England has been too long focused on the East End - Snatch, Long Good Friday, Lock, Stock... when real Londoners know the East End's good for curry houses, and the gangsters headed out to the Home counties years ago.Interesting to note that several comments in the reviews of this superlative film concerned the unintelligible accents. I should point out that viewers in the UK (and Holland and most Scandinavian countries) regularly enjoy American films without the aid of subtitles, so how come you find it so hard to understand us? :) We didn't complain that the cast of Donnie Brasco or Goodfellas had New York accents, so why complain that the Essex boys have Essex accents?

This movie had all the elements of an action/drama, murder, betrayal, more murder, some drugs, underground gang activity, more betrayal, violence... The plot is interesting, based on actual events in the underground, but we all know how things get blown out of proportion and prettied up for the big screen. Sean Bean was dynamic as Jason Locke. Alex Kingston brilliantly portrayed his vengeful wife and let's not forget Charlie Creed-Miles, as the not so intelligent lackey, Billy.In the end, maybe we'll find that the underground is a woman's world.... or maybe not.