It’s difficult not to look at London Road and think that it ought to have been a disaster. For a start, a musical about a fairly recent serial killer case sounds tacky and a little bit tasteless. Likewise, having a musical where all the lyrics are taken from real-life interviews, using the original genuine speech-patterns, sounds like the sort of thing that might be nice as an artistic exercise, but not anything that could create good songs that people would be interested in hearing.

However, when London Road reached the National Theatre stage in London, critics had to eat their words and admit it was really good. Whether it would survive a jump to film was another matter, as while it worked within the inherent theatrical artifice of the stage, bringing it out into the ‘real world’ is something rather different.

The script is based on interviews conducted with the residents of London Road and others whose lives were affected by a series of murders of prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006. It’s essentially in three acts, with the first third set before the killer was caught, looking at the effect of the murders on the residents of the area where the girls are disappearing from. It then moves into the limbo after the police charge London Road resident Steven Wright with the killings. Many had hoped that knowing who did it would bring closure, but they discover it doesn’t bring the comfort they’d hoped, as the media circus and uncertainty continue.

The film then moves on to the perhaps unexpected effects of the murders, such as the residents pulling together and creating a residents’ association in the hope of improving the area, as well as the help that was suddenly offered to Ipswich’s remaining prostitutes to get them off the streets and off drugs.

London Road mixes recreated interviews with re-enactments of certain events. Notably though, it never shows the victims (except metaphorically) or the killer, instead focussing on the wider effects of the case, from the media hullabaloo to the suspicions of the people of Ipswich knowing that there is a killer amongst them.

It’s all done extremely well, as irrespective of the musical aspect it works as a dramatised documentary, including revealing the conflicted attitudes of the residents, from those who were secretly rather glad the killer got rid of the troublesome prostitutes, to the rather ghoulish excitement it caused some teenagers and journalists).

That alone would be worthwhile, but then you have the fact the whole thing keeps breaking into song. When it first happens, with people singing words in a way that sounds exactly like speech (which is what it originally was), the whole idea seems bizarre and the sort of ridiculous thing nobody should have ever attempted. However, it soon starts to grow on you and reveals itself to be rather clever, making extensive use of repeated phrasing and layering words together to create songs that are oddly catchy and also effective at bringing you into the aspects of the situation the film is trying to highlight. It also allows the film to have a surprising sense of humour, which never feels cheap but might have been difficult to bring out in a different way.

It’s undoubtedly odd, but it’s also rather fascinating and a surprisingly entertaining and human way to look at some pretty dark issues, managing to bring together the real and the intrinsically artificial to create something new and a little different, which feels grounded and yet utterly fantastical at the same time. I’m not sure whether it really creates anything profound, but it’s undoubtedly massively more successful than it has any right to be. And just in case you were wondering how close to the real words it is, right at the end there are clips from the original interviews, revealing that it’s pretty much exactly the same, bringing out the rhythm and melody of what was already there.

One thing I wasn’t sure about was the brief cameo from Tom Hardy, who was apparently a fan of the stage show and so wanted to be part of the movie. He plays a cabbie who has a fascination with serial killers, who has a song (done more through rhythmic speaking than traditional singing) about his theories about the killer, which understandably unnerves his passenger. It’s a worthwhile song, but suddenly having Hardy show up is a bit odd, as it’s not the sort of film that really benefits from a bit of star power.

Overall Verdict: I know that for some people it won’t matter what I say, as a musical based on interviews about a series of murders sound too strange to be something they’d want to see. However, it is worth getting over you preconceptions, as it not only works as a musical, but also successfully manages to give insight into the wider effects of notorious crimes.

Special Features:
Making of featurette
Premiere Q&As
Trailer

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

The mid-season finale of The Walking Dead’s fourth season was hands down one of the most electrifying, suspenseful and jaw dropping episodes of any TV show ever. After finally putting to bed the struggle between Nick and Woodbury’s charismatic but psychotic Governor, the latter half of the show saw our heroes heading towards a mysterious refuge known as Terminus.

As they headed towards salvation, the season finale unsurprisingly yanked the rug out, as Rick Grimes and co. discover the haven to be community of cannibals that’ve just trapped them in a storage container – presumably for when they’re feeling peckish later. With Rick proclaiming that their captors ‘don’t know who they’re screwing with’, this fifth season was always going to kick off with a bang. But while the season premiere kicks things off in predictably spectacular and grisly fashion, it’s all taken off the boil for the remainder of this comparatively directionless arc as gore-laden zombie action is eschewed in favour of shining a spotlight on the group members’ crumbling sanities.

As far as zombie-themed stuff goes, The Walking Dead has always been somewhat of an oddity. Sure, it can stump up enough viscera to make your last meal want to do an encore, but generally it’s one hell of a slow burner – albeit one that has always paid off by smashing the walls of your comfort zone down when you’re least expecting it. While Season five offers the characters plenty of flesh to chew on, the balance between calm and chaos that has made the show so engrossing is a little off. It’s not disastrous, don’t get me wrong, but it’s sometimes painfully slow as they continue to build suspense for a comparatively little payoff.

The crux of the season sees Rick sensibly deciding that maybe Terminus wasn’t the best place to settle down and try to rebuild society, leaving him and his cohorts to hit the road for an alternative settlement where they can wait out the whole zombie business in peace, all the while trying to regroup with the members of the group that got separated or went missing during the events of last season. With the bloodthirsty events of Season 4’s prison battle all chipping away at the heroes’ collective psyche, the season sees things getting darker and darker until we’re not entirely sure if the heroes are actually that heroic anymore. It’s a sensible, fresh direction in which to take the show considering the last two seasons saw the gang face off against another group with more villainous intentions.

The issue here though remains the pacing. It may be the right direction for the characters but, with little else going on around them, it becomes a case of watching a very slow degeneration of people as they edge ever closer towards savagery. It’s far from bad, but it could admittedly do with some more of the show’s trademark action just to pep things up a little. It’s particularly frustrating at two points when the show builds up to two massive confrontations that you’d expect to play out for the rest of the season – only for them to be dealt with within an episode or two. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just feels that, like the walkers themselves, the show seems to be ambling around without anything juicy to sink its teeth into for the most part, and two golden opportunities are pissed away.

In all though, Season Five is fascinating stuff and has been lauded by some as the best season of the show so far. In terms of character development that’s definitely the case, but in other areas it’s nowhere near the standard that’s been set before. It’s one that’s likely to polarise the show’s fans in terms of whether or not they’ll be happy with the change of pace, but the bloodlustier among them won’t feel too hard done by as The Walking Dead remains one of the best shows on TV right now.

Overall Verdict: A change of pace for a show that still offers greatness. Hopefully Season Six will see the groundwork laid here pay off.

Special Features:
Audio Commentaries
Deleted Scenes
The Making of The Walking Dead
The Making of Alexandria
Featurettes

Reviewer: Jordan Brown

While Spooks (known as MI5 in the US) ended on British TV in 2012, it’s now been resurrected for the big screen with Spooks: The Greater Good. It’s certainly not necessary to have seen the show though, especially as it’s largely about new characters, with the main holdovers being the Secret Service setting and the presence of Peter Firth as counter-terrorism chief Harry Pearce.

Harry’s career comes crashing down around him after he makes the call to free dangerous terrorist Qasim (Elyes Gabel), after his prisoner transport is held up by armed men, which makes many people in MI5 feel he needs to be removed. He also becomes convinced that Qasim couldn’t have escaped without help from inside MI5, and so decides to disappear and go into hiding, in order to investigate.

He also calls Will Holloway (Kit Harington), a young agent Harry previously decommissioned, in order to get his help. While Will isn’t sure about this, he gets drawn into the investigation which leads them to believe Qasim is planning a major terrorist attack on London.

Normally when a TV show gets turned a feature film, the makers decide to up the ante in terms of plot and scale. However, Spooks was always rather hyperbolic on TV, with the team constantly thwarting major attacks of various types. Therefore, while The Greater Good makes use of more locations, flitting from London to Berlin and Moscow, in many respects it’s not as big a jump from TV as you might expect – especially in an age of mega-budget spy thrills such as Bourne and Skyfall.

That’s not to say it’s bad though, just that there’s an old-fashioned edge to it, of spies running around in a mire of moral grey areas, unable to trust anyone and constantly attempting to outfox both the bad guys and one another. They moral grey areas are its particular fascination, exploring Harry’s belief that in order to get the outcome you need, it’s not about doing good things, it’s about doing the least bad thing.

The film has pace, drive and an interesting villain in the charismatic Qasim, but it’s difficult to escape the feeling that the The Greater Good is like a good, extended episode of the TV show, rather than something inherently cinematic, at least now that it’s reached DVD. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, especially as the film is entertaining. It’ll certainly satisfy Spooks fans, while those who didn’t watch the show should also have a decent time, even if it’s unlikely to join anyone’s list of spy film greats.

Peter Firth is as dependable as always as Harry, a man who always seems weary of his job but nevertheless believes in what he’s doing, no matter how others might view it. Kit Harington isn’t quite as successful, given a relatively bland role that he doesn’t really add a huge amount to. He’s quite good at the action scenes, and certainly does a lot of running around in the movie, but beyond that’s he’s relatively forgettable.

If those behind the film were hoping that this might be the beginning of a big screen franchise, they may not get their wish. It’s fairly fun and entertaining in a John le Carré-lite way, but it’s unlikely to leave many people screaming for more.

Overall Verdict: An entertaining if not particularly memorable extension of the Spooks franchise. It’s nice to see Harry Pearce back, although I’m not sure The Greater Good is enough to ensure we’ll see more of him.

Special Features:
Making Of
Cast & Crew Interviews
Deleted Scenes
Trailer

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

I’d imagine some stars would think twice before agreeing to appear in a movie directed by their stunt double/martial arts choreographer, but that’s what Keanu Reeves has done with John Wick, and it turned out to be a good idea. I’ve always thought Reeves is a really good actor – as long as he doesn’t speak. John Wick gives him a character that’s who isn’t big on words, but which allows him to showcase that physically he’s very good, especially when given some slick action to dispense.

Keanu is the title character, an ex-assassin who left his life of crime behind when he met the perfect woman. After his wife dies, he’s barely holding on and is sent over the edge when the spoiled, selfish son of a criminal kingpin steals his car and kills the dog John’s wife gave him.

Wick isn’t going to let that lie and so comes out of retirement to exact revenge. News of his return shakes up the criminal fraternity, as he has a reputation for being the best of the best. He’s so good at his job that some call him the bogeyman, or as one crim puts it, it would be more accurate to say he’s the man you call when you need the bogeyman killed. John begins to cut a swathe of violence through the ranks of organised crime, as he works his way to the men he really wants.

In many respects John Wick is a fairly simple film – driving forwards and using it’s cool, stylised look and excellently put together action sequences to create something that is violent, kinetic and entertaining. It backs that up with characters who may not be desperately complex, but have enough to them not to seem completely plastic.

It’s a movie that brings together elements of comic books, videogames and revenge flicks to create something that feels fresh, clean and which has been put together extremely well. It is pretty violent though, so if you’re not a fan of blood-letting, this probably isn’t one for you, but if you have an appreciation for well-choreographed, balletic and yet impactful action, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Sadly, the DVD doesn’t feature any special features, but the movie itself makes up for it.

Overall Verdict: Violent and fairly simple, John Wick has a mission and it executes it with great style and panache, ensuring this is more than just your average revenge flick.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac