Original Gangster – Simple Gangster Film
Director: Savvas D Michael
Writer: Savvas D Michael (Screenplay)
Starring: Alex Mills, Steve Guttenberg, Ian Reddington, Daniel Caltagirone, Vas Blackwood, Adam Deacon, Sean Cronin
Plot: The stoic chronicles of Castor, orphaned as a child, forced to survive in the wild and his colorful journey through the criminal underworld of London.
Tagline – Hero o menace? You decide …
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Original Gangster starts when Castor gets orphaned by criminals, left to fend for himself in the streets of London. Castor (Mills) grows up to know how the survive and when he meets the man Milo (Reddington) who saved his life, he gets introduced into a new world.
Castor gets to work under crime boss Jean-Baptista Philippe (Guttenberg) who runs everything in London, as Castor continues to learn the world, all to impress Milo.
Thoughts on Original Gangster
Characters & Performances – Castor was a young boy when his parents are killed by criminals, he is left to fend for himself by the man that saved him. He grew up to be a streetwise man that isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty leaving bodies in his path. He will need to learn the new world of drug lords when he ends up meeting Milo again. Alex Mills does well in this role, showing us the transformation from tramp to gangster hitman. Jean-Baptiste Philippe is the ruthless crime boss that offers Castor a home and a job, he will expect him to complete the hits no matter what and will looks to talk him into the most difficult one. Steve Guttenberg does give us the over-the-top character which works well for the film, getting moments of humour from his wild behaviour. Milo is the man that spares young Castor’s life and ends up taking him under his wing years later. He helps Castor makes the contacts in the world, but doesn’t want him to get too close. Ian Reddington does bring the tough guy figure to life. The rest of the characters we meet do get fit the world created, adding to the colourful character involved.
Story – The story here follows an orphaned young boy that grows up to enter the same world that saw his parents killed and must navigate the world to survive. This does feel like the typical entry into the criminal underworld story, giving us the person that will guide them into and the boss that will expect them to do whatever they say. It is all told in a narration format showing us that we only get to see Castor point of view of the situation, or have moments told through the stories he was once told, which is kept up throughout the film well. It does seem to want to commit to be wacky, but doesn’t commit to going completely over the top.
Themes – Original Gangster is a crime movie that will take us into the world through London, which will make the backdrop work, with the size of the compound making the crime boss area interesting.
Original Gangster will be available on DVD & Digital Download from 5th April.
Original Gangster is a simple by the book introduction to the crime world without committing to the wacky world the characters seem to imply.
