The British
heist movie "Wasteland" aspires to the level of good Guy Ritchie -
say, a crowd-pleaser such as "RocknRolla." It's well below that
standard - it would need more humor and a much tighter plot - but a passable
evening's entertainment, preferably on the tube.
Harvey (Luke Treadway) was framed on a possession charge by his then-employer Steven Roper, a nasty local club owner who sidelines in the drug trade (Neil Maskell). Out now, Harvey vows vengeance, sharing with his mates the inside info (so to speak) he learned in stir about the 50,000-plus pounds Roper keeps in a guarded-like-a-fortress safe.
Harvey (Luke Treadway) was framed on a possession charge by his then-employer Steven Roper, a nasty local club owner who sidelines in the drug trade (Neil Maskell). Out now, Harvey vows vengeance, sharing with his mates the inside info (so to speak) he learned in stir about the 50,000-plus pounds Roper keeps in a guarded-like-a-fortress safe.
Harvey's
telling all this to a detective inspector played by the veteran Timothy Spall,
who does a nice job of imbuing a familiar type with unexpected empathy and
amenability. Harvey won't rat out his mates, including Charlie (Gerard Kearns), who's reluctant
to attempt the heist, and Dempsey (Iwan Rheon), who's in as soon
as he hears about it and ends up keeping even Harvey from bailing out. Both Kearns
and Rheon give good performances, again bringing shading to some stock
characters. And Treadway's a credible lead, even in the romantic subplot that
adds nothing to the picture.
The story
doesn't stand up to day-after scrutiny. The big reveal that writer-director
Rowan Athale builds up to feels a bit too scripted. It calls upon Harvey to
demonstrate brains and long-range planning we haven't seen from him throughout
the movie. You may also call bollocks on Spall's DI being left with a huge
choice to make, and/or on the choice he does make. And even though Athale
adverts to the problem, I still have no idea how Harvey makes a particular violent
act appear to be one of self-defense to a large group of onlookers. In truth, a
recommendation is probably overly generous for "Wasteland," but it's
watchable and never boring, and eventually I actually picked up most of what
they were saying.
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