This thriller might seem like some to be a simple remake of GET CARTER - but it's a lot more than that. Director Steven Soderbergh shoots his film in an unusual, unique way. Whereas most films follow a simple, chronologically-bound linear narrative (i.e. events happen after each other as time progresses), this film has scenes following a vaguely "diagonal" pattern - what I'm trying to say is that one scene plays out, then we have flashbacks and flash-forwards into the past and future, always going back to the same scene again. While this might sound confusing to watch, you get used to it quickly and realise how brilliant and disconcerting it is. Soderbergh also overlaps his dialogue from scene to scene which make the film even more interesting to watch.While the plot is nothing new, the actors invest it with a real dynamite chemistry, a film to watch spellbound from start to finish. Terence Stamp is absolutely superb as the Cockney gangster, muttering rhyming slang and uttering such class lines as "Tell them I'm coming!", and gives a moving portrayal of a past-it hard man coming to terms with the cruel, modern world. We really get inside this guy's head. On the other hand, Peter Fonda is also good as Stamp's nemesis, a weak music producer hiding behind bodyguards and agents to protect himself. Barry Newman also pops up as Fonda's right-hand man to deliver a tough performance.One classy scene has Stamp beaten to a pulp by thugs - only to return moments later to butcher them all in a bloody shootout. This is shot atypically from what you might expect by reading that description, as to add more impact the camera stays OUTSIDE the building while this happens! Other twists include a bodyguard being thrown over some railings in the background, whereas most flicks would shoot this in close-up. It's touches like these which help breathe new life into the stale thriller and make this instead an intelligent, thought-provoking drama. The only complaint I would have with this film is that it feels a little too short. Watch it and enjoy!

This is the oft repeated line intoned due to the wonderfully staccato'd editing that makes this creative endeavour less a crime film, and more a recursive lesson in retroactive visual memory. This is probably one of the best films ever edited. If crime films are not your cup of tea, you need to watch it just for the editing alone. Sarah Flack is credited as editor, but apparently genius director Steven Soderbergh was not happy with her generic work and changed it to its eventual lyrically beautiful structure. In any case, It's always hard to know where an editor's input ends and the supervising director's effort begins.As to the Plot, it is pretty simple. A British Woman dies in America and her Father, an East End Gangster "Wilson", played by the always roguish Terence Stamp (his first name is never mentioned), goes on the warpath to find and throttle whoever was responsible. A straight forward cut and dry revenge film, but this is one of those wonderful gestalt films that is greater than the sum of its simplistic parts.Forever beautiful Lesley Ann Warren provides a soft touch to Stamp's hard edged tough guy, while Luis Guzmán brings local flavor to the set.This is an excellent revenge film that builds to a surprising climax. Unfortunately for Superman fans, this doesn't arrive in the form of Terence Stamp holding a gun to someone's head and demanding them to "Kneel before Zod". Nevertheless The Limey has a great ending anyway, that I'll not give away.

The Limey is directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. It stars Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman, Barry Newman, Peter Fonda and Nicky Katt. Music is by Cliff Martinez and cinematography by Edward Lachman.Wilson (Stamp), fresh out of prison, travels to Los Angeles to investigate the death of his estranged daughter Jenny (Melissa George). Aided by a couple of her friends, Wilson's trail leads to the last guy Jenny was dating, oily record producer Terry Valentine (Fonda), a guy with more than record producing on his CV.Steven Soderbergh picks up on a common film noir theme, that of a man seeking revenge for the death of a friend or loved one, and cloaks it in visual and aural artistry. The story as written is simple, undeniably so, yet the narrative structure spins it into a vortex of complexity and psychological disharmony.Alongside his editor, Sarah Flack, Soderbergh uses flash-backs and flash-forwards to unfurl the plot. Thus we often get a triplicate viewpoint of a scene, such as what will happen, what the antagonist wants to happen or what might happen! It's dizzying stuff but it serves the emotional thrum of the plot beautifully and draws the viewer firmly into Wilson's state of mind. This is the case with dialogue and sound as well, where a current scene will feature previous or future aural snatches. The director also splices in scenes from Wilson's memory banks to marry up the emotional discord, while also deftly using scenes from Stamp's performance in 1967 film Poor Cow (Ken Loach) to show the youthful Wilson from happier times.If this all sounds like style over substance? Then it is, but The Limey rises above this issue because elsewhere there's other great rewards. Notably Stamp's performance and the counter-point characterisation by Fonda. Stamp, in full cockney spouting mode is having a great time, he has Wilson as a feral man of vengeance, but with a knowing sense of parody, he also exudes a sorrowful guilt at his inadequacies as a father. Fonda has Valentine as a relic of the sixties, he's regressing and constantly looks back. It's a smooth performance from Fonda, weasel like but never over the top in villain terms, and the fact that Stamp and Fonda are mostly kept apart until the finale really helps the characterisations to thrive. Good support comes from Guzman and Warren, though Newman only just convinces as Valentine's "enforcer".There's good humour to be found here, intentionally so, something that seems to have thrown some folk into thinking Stamp is going over the top. That isn't the case, though, Wilson is a veteran of prison and wry humour is merely one of his defence mechanisms. One of the great scenes in the film sees Wilson launch into a cockney monologue as a stony faced DEA Agent (Bill Duke looking hard as always) listens without understanding a thing he says! It's also worth pointing out that although the story is average, Lem Dobbs' screenplay does throw in a very good ending, a veer from the norm that closes the picture on a strong note. There's so much good about The Limey that it's a safe recommendation to neo-noir fans and fans of Stamp and Soderbergh. 7.5/10

This is a beautiful piece of filmmaking that rewards repeated viewings. Luis Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren--two old pros who make anything they appear in better--are wonderful here, understated but adding so much to every scene they appear in. And Terence Stamp's performance here (like Michael Caine's in Get Carter) is a template for every Brit gangster that came after him. That said, I couldn't get past the fact that Stamp's character would let Terry Valentine live in the climactic scene. Perhaps it strengthens the movie from a dramatic standpoint (such as Harvey Keitel giving the money away in Bad Lieutenant) but why in the world would he do it?