Shooters

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Production handle of this blow-and-throw London crime pic, "Shooters: A Nasty Little Gangster Movie," aptly describes the finished result, a compendium of local and U.S. genre cliches hung on a cuss-heavy script peopled by hand-me-down stereotypes.

Production handle of this blow-and-throw London crime pic, “Shooters: A Nasty Little Gangster Movie,” aptly describes the finished result, a compendium of local and U.S. genre cliches hung on a cuss-heavy script peopled by hand-me-down stereotypes. Impressive names lured to the low-budgeter are led by Adrian Dunbar in trim form as a ruthless gangleader, though his performance can’t disguise the general poverty of invention. Shot late ’99, pic crept out on a handful of U.K. screens Jan. 25 to a critical drubbing.

Gilly (co-scripter Louis Dempsey) exits prison to find his partner in crime, J (Andrew Howard, also co-scripting), doesn’t have the money from the scam that landed him in stir. Instead, J, his brains fried by coke, has a high-risk plan to rip off a deal between Irish gangster Max Bell (Dunbar) and Scottish arms dealer Jackie Junior (Gerard Butler). Also in the mix is a bent cop (Emma Fielding) who’s on everyone’s tail. Howard, looking like a strung-out version of Sting, is OK as the flaky partner, but the grubby, downbeat visuals (blown up from 16mm), self-indulgent performances and Dempsey’s faux-philosophical voiceover make for thin entertainment.

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Shooters

U.K.-Netherlands

  • Production: A Universal Pictures release of a PFG Entertainment presentation of a Coolbeans Films (U.K.)/Catapult Prods. (Netherlands) production. (International sales: PFG, Santa Monica, Calif.) Produced by Margery Bone. Executive producer, George Skene. Co-executive producer, Jan Bruinstroop. Co-producers, Glenn Durfort, Greg Campbell, Colin Teague. Directed by Colin Teague, Glenn Durfort. Screenplay, Gary Young, Andrew Howard, Louis Dempsey.
  • Crew: Camera (color), Tom Erisman; editor, Kevin Whelan; music, Kemal Ultanur; production designer, Robin Tarsnane; costume designer, Vivienne Low. Reviewed at UGC Trocadero 7, London, Jan. 25, 2002. Running time: 91 MIN.
  • With: With: Adrian Dunbar, Andrew Howard, Louis Dempsey, Gerard Butler, Matthew Rhys, Emma Fielding, Jason Hughes, Ioan Gruffydd, Treva Etienne, David Kennedy, Jamie Sweenie, Melanie Lynskey.

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