Continuing along the lines of other geriatric revenge films like Gran Torino, Harry Brown is a step back from the renaissance of Michael Caine’s career. Overly earnest, this is little more than a thugs and drugs flick, complete with angry ex-Marine men looking to make a mark on the world.
A trite female detective character with a chip on her shoulder further adds to sense of narrative laziness, with trope after trope drawn out towards the inevitable confrontation. Oh, and the Irish are bad guys again, doncha know.
Silly and boring, Caine nonetheless almost miraculously manages to elevate the film into something special. However, it’s all for naught, as the rest of the cast do little to make this anything more than a bad episode of television. Frankly, after the Wire, I’m not sure films like Harry Brown should be made any more, we should just all collectively go watch that masterpiece over and over…