It's gangster business as usual in this four-part miniseries adaptation of a Martina Cole bestseller. The story, as it goes, is extremely derivative and straightforward: a somewhat psychotic young criminal is released from prison and immediately begins to go off the rails, killing off everyone he sees as an enemy and seriously messing up his family relations along the way. I'm not necessarily a big fan of this particular genre, and watching this miniseries, I remembered why: it's predictable. The gangster stuff might have been relocated to London's East End, but in all other respects it's completely familiar, using SCARFACE and a dozen other similar films as reference points to tell a small scale story. I guess there's only so much you can say when it comes down to it, and this doesn't say anything new at all.Still, one thing distinguishes this from similar fare: it's got good acting in it, generally across the board. Yes, the majority of the characters are scummy, villainous, repulsive, or a combination of the three, but they're never less than realistic. Most of the cast are unfamiliar newcomers to me, other than stalwart Brian Cox playing a criminal kingpin stuck behind bars (the kind of role he can do in his sleep, to be honest). Best of the bunch is up 'n' comer, Tom Hardy, who went off to Hollywood after this, and it's easy to see why: his depiction of a multi-layered psychopath is absolutely fantastic, a gripping portrayal of madness and evil, and yet with inklings of humanity here and there that stop him from becoming totally one-sided. Hardy's the key that kept me watching this one.Elsewhere, there's nasty violence, some fraught histrionics involving children, an extremely unpleasant rape scene, and a fitting climax. Sometimes the series feels stretched out, but for the most part it remains watchable, with good, realistic dialogue. I wasn't too happy with the ending, but I still enjoyed the journey there.

Tom Hardy's performance is disturbingly brilliant. It makes his performance in Warrior look almost restrained when you can see how far he can take it. I will rent what ever he is in to see what he does next. Seems like a modern day Sean Penn with more of an edge and grit, or an Ed Norton. I hope he gets the roles he deserves and is around for a long time. By the way the the other acting is awesome also as is the writing and direction. I believe I saw this on Starz and now must find the blu-ray. Does anyone know why this series did not continue? This could have been the new Soprano's. Tom Hardy even took cigarette smoking to such as extreme level not seen since Jeromy Irons in Dead Ringers.

This show is more than OK, but it's impossible to take your eyes off Tom Hardy. He becomes Freddie so much that he becomes unattractive. That seems an impossibility in itself, but it's not the first time Tom Hardy has made me disgusted in his character. I had to constantly remind myself I was watching Tom Hardy, the actor, during Bronson and Warrior. He completely transforms. I would hate to act alongside the guy. He truly is a one-in-a-million that comes along once in a lifetime. My parents had Brando. Hollywood is being flooded by a tsunami of English talent, and Tom Hardy is surfing it naked.

I do not want to spoil the pure glory of Tom Hardy's performance in this program so I will hesitate to give too much away in this short review. Hardy plays the part of Freddie, the most evil anti-hero any of us could ever love. His monstrosity and love for all things illegal leave us wanting more from Hardy as he plays Freddie to a tee. With both physical and mental love at his side, Freddie goes about rebuilding his life after a trip inside; and he does so, with a vengeance against those who have treated his family in a bad way whilst he has been in prison. I hesitate to write another sentence about 'The Take' as I think I could carry on forever, but would surely end up writing the whole script!Do yourself a favour, watch the 3 episodes available at the moment, then await the fourth and final episode. Sure to be a beautiful triumph from the director David Drury. Enjoy.