The good news. The film starts out interestingly enough. You have Bob Hoskins, Sean Bean, heck Danny Dyer has shown in Eastenders that he can act a bit.However this is Nick Love film the Brit Martin Scorsese wannabe, however he cannot even reach the modest heights of the late Michael Winner. As a writer/director Love is is inept and his film output shows this. This wants to be Death Wish but ends up as bad as Death Wish 3!This film is a wet dream if you are a UKIP cum BNP cum English Defence League supporter. A rallying call to arms and a two fingered salute to Tony Blair's Britain. People let down by thugs, gangsters and the justice system. This is London portrayed in the same way New York City was portrayed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, creeps and villains on every corner ready to pounce on the innocent. The police are incompetent or worse, corrupt.Sean Bean is the ex soldier who rounds up a group of vigilantes and with the help of veteran cop Bob Hoskins mete out justice rather ineptly. Just to show there is some equal opportunities, we have Lennie James playing a black barrister (and at one point, claims he is a Muslim) whose family is threatened by a crime lord's cronies but he just flip flops from taking vengeance for his wife to respecting the rule of law.The film has a bad plot, bad lines and is just plain bad.

When I saw the trailer for OUTLAW I knew I wanted to see it – Sean Bean is one of my favourite actors and I loved the look of the vigilante plot. But it was one of those films that slipped by until now, when I finally caught up with it on TV one night. I'm glad I didn't get to it sooner.The film is a crushing, no-budget disappointment, nothing like it's made out to be in the trailer. The plot is passable at best, and while it contains some intense, shocking moments (the attack on the barrister's wife is one of the most disturbing I've seen in some time), it never seems to go anywhere, and by the end turns into the usual good guys vs. arch villain type action flick. Some scenes are ludicrous, like the bit with the shoot-out with the police in the wood, and the characters are never likable as they should be. Take Sean Bean's lead for instance – he's a disturbed ex-soldier, yes, but we never learn a thing about his background or what makes him tick. Bean tries hard to make the best of the material, but his talents are wasted here.It's a shame, as the talents of other decent actors – such as Lennie James and Bob Hoskins – are also left unexploited to their full potential. The biggest problem of all lies in the director, Nick Love. For some stupid reason, he adopts a shaky cam in an attempt to give his film edge, but it's distracting at best and nauseating at worst. Paul Greengrass he certainly isn't – and the camera-work alone is enough to ruin what was potentially an interesting film that raises some important questions about crime and justice.

When I first heard that Danny Dyer and Sean Bean were appearing in a film together, i thought it was going to be legendary. Before I saw this at the cinema it had received several slatings by film critics. There are some holes in the story, but it is a gripping film, with some violent and traumatic scenes (yes I thought these were good), and the cast and acting was very good on the whole: Sean Harris (aka the Kestrel) plays the part so well, Danny Dyer is always good in my opinion, and with the gravitas of Sean Bean and Bob Hoskins its almost faultless. Film-making was good, but it does seem like the story line was adjusted to fit the film as its not always logical. P.s. If this was a DVD rating id give it 9 because of the film commentary by Nick Love and Danny Dyer. That is what would make me watch the film again.

This script seems like a perfect blend of ideas taken from The Daily Mail and The Guardian.That might appear a contradictory statement but I'll explain.The basic premise consists of the most gruesome headlines one would expect from a tabloid. The 'no respect for war heroes', murder of unborn babies, random street violence etc.But it then is hamstrung by political correctness. All the villains are conveniently white, for example, while the 'outlaws' are a mixed bag including a gay and a black barrister who implausibly turns out to be a Muslim later on.Other trendy but annoying gimmicks such as shaky camera work and anaemic looking colours will also please Guardian readers.This group I have dubbed the mild bunch, since despite the huge provocation, they generally just stand around with smouldering looks on their faces, saying "I can't do this". The exception to this is a CCTV operator and small-time voyeur, who although he has not received any violence himself, takes to dishing it out like a trooper. Oh and he's a bigot. Being a bigot apparently makes him worthier of being executed than a paedophile and murderer since he is mysterious hanged by Sean Bean (the gang leader) while the gang looks on, shortly after they let off from the same fate a known paedophile and the murderer of the black barrister's baby.This paedophile then murders Bob Hoskins, a police informant who has been helping the gang, although how he knows about Hoskins is not explained. So the gang hang their own member knowing full well that the police will find him and that will lead them to the gang? This film makes no sense.Although it starts promisingly, it soon descends into clichés including appalling dialogue which generally includes the C-word in every sentence.It is a pity because crime is now a serious issue in Britain and a good film on the subject is sorely needed.