Layer Cake

2004

1h 45m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

2.2K

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Drama

Thriller

Crime

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

Directors

Matthew Vaughn

Writers

J.J. Connolly(screenplay by)

J.J. Connolly(novel by)

Stars

Daniel Craig

Sienna Miller

Tom Hardy

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Top cast

XXXX

Tammy

Clarkie

Gene

Morty

Slasher

Jimmy Price

Duke

Eddie Temple

Sidney

Dragan

Shanks

Trevor

Cody

Terry

Larry - Crazy

Charlie

Mickey

Directors

Matthew Vaughn

Writers

J.J. Connolly(screenplay by)

J.J. Connolly(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Absolutely tremendous! I haven't got much (edit: five paragraphs later...) to say about 'Layer Cake', but that's only because it's simply one of those movies that is undeniably outstanding, to the point it's plain and simple that it requires little explanation. I had heard this bandied about down the years as being arguably Daniel Craig's best, though that is all that I knew about it. What a film! I knew it was one of my favourites because I got goosebumps as soon as the credits rolled as I processed it and that only happens for the movies I adore. Going back to Craig, that man is superb in this, definitely one of the best performances of his that I've seen - up there with 'Knives Out'. That's also saying something, given his other stellar stint as that spy geezer. Michael Gambon is, though, the one I enjoyed most. I'm already a big fan of his, though here he is also a notch above; his voice is up is just so iconic. Away from Craig & Gambon, I lost track of all the known faces that appeared *insert Rick Dalton meme here*. Crazy to see Tom Hardy in this and that he's used the least of his whole crew! I also didn't even recognise Sally Hawkins, despite seeing her name in the opening credits! Simply put: It's brilliantly entertaining! I loved every second, quite literally. It gave me exactly what I wanted from a British gangster flick, so many from this subgenre fail to correctly tow the line between the crime and comedic gangster elements so it can either be cringe or boring, or even both. This, however, utterly nailed it for me. It also holds a pleasing score, you give me that, an entertaining plot and a fantastic cast then, I'm afraid, I am gonna love your movie. It does surpass (the great) 'Stardust' as my standout Matthew Vaughn flick.

r96sk25 May, 2024