SYNOPSICS
Two Down (2015) is a English movie. Matthew Butler-Hart has directed this movie. Alex Hassell,Emma King,Tori Butler-Hart,Nick Rhys are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2015. Two Down (2015) is considered one of the best Comedy,Crime,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Two Down is the first theatrical feature from Fizz and Ginger Films, whom Screen International (UK), picked for their 'Stars of Tomorrow' edition in 2013. Set in modern day London, Two Down is nevertheless inspired by films of the 1970's, which gives this clever little thriller an interesting spin in the look, the dialogue and the sound. After surviving an explosion in Iraq, Mr. Thomas leaves the infuriating desk job the army had created for him and enters the underground world of the contract killer. His brother, Sam, had been caught selling on army secrets to the highest bidder and is now working for the illusive Harry Montagu. They use Mr. Thomas as a very effective way of eliminating problems they encounter in their business. That is until Mr. Thomas begins to question whom these problems are that he is removing, and why they deserve this fate. We start the film with Mr. Thomas following a target, a young woman. All is not as it seems as she manages to fight him off long enough ...
Same Director
Two Down (2015) Reviews
Vastly uneven - the second half is better than the first half, but overall it simply isn't worth the effort
A contract killer John Thomas (Alex Hassell) is given a seemingly simple assignment - kill a young woman. However, John fails to murder the young woman and ends up being shot himself. Badly injured, he heads towards the flat of an old friend, but it turns out that his old friend has since moved out and he imposes himself on the reluctant new owner of the flat Sophie (Tori Butler Hart). Sophie unwittingly involves delivery boy Luke (Graham Butler) in her ordeal, but after some food and whiskey they listen to John's story and decide that they will help him out... I'm British and I always try to give the benefit of the doubt to low-budget British films such as Two Down and whilst it certainly has its moments it isn't a brilliant film in its entirety... For a start, the film is almost impossibly slow - I persevered because I'm used to dull slow starting films and it does take a lot for me to shut a film off halfway through, but Two Down came close. So anyway it gets established (after a while) that John's failure is not to be tolerated and mob-boss Harry Montague (Game of Thrones Conleth Hill) doesn't take kindly to failure and tasks John's own brother to eliminate him (which of course Sam is reluctant to do as it is his own brother). There is a slight story/character study here about a contract killer developing a conscience and starting to 'think for himself' but it is skimmed over in this film and this aspect of the story doesn't quite get the development that it deserves. Alex Hassell gives a good performance, but it was quite a distracting performance (he reminded me of a cross between Raul Julia and Johnny Depp in this film - this wasn't helped by the fact that I watched a moustachioed performance recently from Johnny Depp recently in Murder On The Orient Express). To be fair though, the film does improve slightly in the second half - in the sense that it gains some momentum, but it's still rather predictable and did very little to get me on the edge of my seat. In summary, the second half is OK but the rather boring and overly talkative first half of the film will likely prove too much for many people to endure - like I say the second half of the film is better than the first half, but overall I'm really not sure if this film is worth the effort.
simple interesting film
Coming into Two Down entirely cold, having not heard of it before and without reading reviews, seeing a trailer or any knowledge about its creators, I got to enjoy a lovely film. Unmistakeably British from the outset the film is set in London but does nothing to exploit stereotypes or caricature Londoners. Instead it reflects internally on its own characters, some of whom are quite weakly developed but collectively work well together to create a shared atmosphere within the film. The plot is extremely simple but that's taken as a strength by the film. Rather than create elaborate plot twists and try and shock the viewer the film is relaxed about introducing new elements and information, and does this sufficiently often to keep the film moving. It was noticeable that just as the film lets you settle into 'Ok, this is the situation' it then draws you gently back out of that complacency, forcing your engagement to understand the implications of the latest revelation. That gentleness underlies everything in the film. Its comedy is quiet and understated, the characters are (mostly) very measured and act with calm intent, and even the action scenes (shoddy though one of them is) are very quick, simple and there only to fill gaps in the story. This film isn't going to appeal to kids seeking CGI fueled action sequences, expensively shot stunts, blood and gore, sex or ADHD influenced cuts. That's not its audience. Instead it's worth watching Two Down if you like low budget British films, if you like films that aren't afraid to take their time to tell you a story, or if you just want to watch a good film.
Astounding Low Budget Debut
I was fortunate to stumble across this at a festival, The Artemis Women in Film Festival in California, and loved every minute of it. As and Englishman living in L.A it was wonderful seeing London again but without the gritty gangster feel that seems to come from most UK films of this sort, nor the glamour that Hollywood tends to see the city through. From the classy opening scene with credits I could see the filmmakers had taken great care to create a film to span decades but set in a modern world. It told me that this was going to be a very well crafted film indeed. And I wasn't disappointed. The script, shots, editing, music is stylish, well thought out and brilliantly executed. And the acting is sublime. Not one bum note in the 88 minutes that the film runs for. The pacing is perfect, allowing us into the strange world of 'John Thomas', a very British joke!, but never feeling as if it should be faster. It's a low budget affair to be sure, but for a debut feature it sings of promise for the filmmakers and I'm intrigued to see where they go from here. Bigger and brighter things I'm sure.
Hugely overrated.
Tonally all over the place. Very confusing beginning. And some terrible acting, notably from Graham Butler and Nick Rhys. Conleth Hill is clearly there to get the GoT fans watching, even though he has about 5 lines in the entire thing. This seems to be a pattern for this production company - get a huge star to do a tiny bit and then sell it on their name. I think other reviewers may be right about planted reviews for this title. The fact that the summary by the production company itself doesn't know how to spell elusive, and the top review seems to think that "lamentable" means the exact opposite of its actual meaning says it all.
An engaging watch
I can't critique a film. All I can say is this was a great watch with twists and turns which made it hugely entertaining. The fact it has a small cast and a smaller budget makes the achievement even more lamentable. Brilliant.