Vendetta

In Stephen Reynolds's attritional thriller, Danny Dyer returns to London after going AWOL from the Royal Marines in Afghanistan to track down the vicious gang who immolated his parents (Emma Samms and Tony Denham) in their own garage, after the latter accidentally killed one of their number while preventing a robbery - the intended victim is played by Dyer's daughter, Dani. It's easy to dismiss Brit-crime movies for their Mockney clichés and caricatures, but although this is packed with plenty of both, it also exhibits a grim efficiency, as Dyer uses his killer instincts to dispatch his foes. Meanwhile, cop Alistair Petrie seeks to nab him to boost his own reputation and Special Ops colonel Vincent Regan tries to keep things schtum and get Dyer back into the fold. The vigilante slayings have a cheap horror gimmickiness to them, while the action lacks menace and macabre wit. But Dyer is credibly lethal and Reynolds makes solid use of his urban locales.