User Reviews

St George's Day is directed by Frankie Harper, he also co-writes the screenplay with Urs Buehler and stars with Craig Fairbrass, Vincent Regan, Charles Dance, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Keeley Hazell, Jamie Foreman and Sean Pertwee. Music is by Tim Attack and cinematography is by Mike Southon.

Frankie Harper, one of the most liked and recognisable faces from the slew of British gangster and football hooligan films, turns his hand to try and make his own mark in what is becoming a bulging genre of Brit film. The kicker here is that he blends the two popular lad staples together by having a plot involving gangsters using a football rumble as cover for a robbery. In Berlin, Germany, no less and St George's Day as well! Cor blimey!

Plot is kind of incidental, which is just as well since it's not exactly a brains trust script. Film is filled out with the requisite amount of shouting, swearing, fighting, shooting, thieving, jingoism, sloganeering and lairy witticisms. Harper has surrounded himself with pals, clearly offering up reassuring presences to the budding director, while it's fun for fans of this splinter of Brit cinema to play spot the face. It's all very blokey and enjoyable enough for the undemanding, but the good idea on the page is not born out as the narrative often gasps for fresh air, the attempts at complexity ending up mundane.

The cinematography is a highlight, with the number of Euro locations used giving good visual tonics. Cast perform adequately as per the material, though Moran, Fletcher, Dance and Pertwee are under used and therefore wasted. There's enough in here to suggest Harper could offer something of value as a director, but maybe a little less crass for crass sake should be jettisoned in favour of some intelligence in the writing. Dexter Fletcher's debut outing as a director, Wild Bill, is a good marker, Frankie would do well to follow his mate's lead. 6/10

I was keen to see the this film, having heard a great deal about it when it was in pre-production, and the premise for the movie sounded interesting. During a football match between Germany and the UK, while the Police would have their hands full, a great diamond heist would be attempted by a London Firm. So far, so modern 'Italian Job'. A good idea that wasn't an American movie or a re-make. We've had a fair few gangster turkeys thrown our way in recent years, but this one had promise. It's the directing debut of 'Frank Harper' and with the team he assembled, it would be a good film. So I approached it with probably more enthusiasm than others that have reviewed here and will be as constructive as I can. The good: The cinematography is really nice, wide and sweeping shots make the best of the locations of London, Amsterdam and Berlin, though some of them serve no purpose. While the film looks nice and is slick, unfortunately the bad really lets it down. The story revolves around a London firm made up of two brothers and numerous other characters. Head of the firm is Micky (Harper himself). The dialogue in the first twenty minutes leaves you wincing, with the F word thrown into every line in abandon, with less effect the more frequently it is used - Yes we know cockneys and bad boys swear a lot, but sometimes less really is more. Characters have their own catch phrases 'Let me stop you right there son…' which I am guessing was to establish the familiar nature they have with each other to comical effect but falls painfully flat and sometimes is just embarrassing. The basic premise of the film, a heist under the cover of a football game doesn't really happen until the last quarter of the film, because our characters have to be placed in peril first in order to make the heist a necessity, fair enough, but it takes so long to get there that the heist itself almost feels inconsequential. There is also no real feel of a football game really taking place in Germany, making me wonder why the producers didn't wait until there was one and grab a couple of cameras and go out and film a ton of footage that could have been used to emphasise that there was a UK presence in the country, one shot of extras walking down grey steps (Which could be anywhere) isn't enough to demonstrate this, nice though it maybe. There is talk of days of a better England back in the day, and reference to Henry V but when someone says 'Hey you're never believe it, the job is on Saint George's Day' that's where the relevance of the title begins and ends. A subplot involving a 'grass' in the firm and another brothers attempt to leave and start a new life try to add some humanity to the story but one adds little and the other is left unresolved in a very unrealistic way when you consider the rules of the universe here that Harper has created. None of this can really substitute for the fact there that there is no real build up, tension or drama to the very hollow ending. The variable acting really diminishes the effect of some of the characters as they struggle with the most banal dialogue imaginable. While the cast is filled out with some credible players such as Charles Dance (Who acts the pants off everyone he is in a scene with) and good indie britflick regulars Maskell, Fairbrass and Walters (A far better actor than the roles he is often given) who do their best but everyone struggles with the poor material. Vincent Reagen is so underused he might as well not have been there. Sean Pertwee is suitably sleazy as a bent copper but Jamie Foreman almost looks like he has stepped out of another time period as Micky's Policeman nemesis and Nick Moran is embarrassingly posh as a rich business yuppie. (Because anyone who isn't hard or cockney must be rich and irritating) Not all the dialogue is terrible, there were one or two moments of brilliance here and there but they were lost. Other reviews have mentioned the long tracks of voice-over, all of it Harper himself, leaving you in no doubt that he is the main architect of this creation. Much of it really isn't needed - things are explained in such a perfunctory way, when really the trust should have been placed in the actors to deliver much of this information. In 'Harpers world' female characters are reduced to being 'wets' or dumb blonde's to put it politely, and while I am not denying that such characters exist, it doesn't mean a film needs to be over populated with them to prove the point, nor does it make for good viewing. Yes, your target audience might be young men in the 18 to 40 age bracket who watch football and read lads mags but that doesn't mean you have to reduce every female in your story to their perception of a good night out. The Long Good Friday is given a mention in the script here, so it's worth noting one of the things that makes that movie so great is Helen Mirren's character. There are no such rivals for her crown here, women being reduced to meaningless bimbo's or drug couriers. I really wanted to like this film, and it had such promise but for his debut Harper really should have trusted in a good writer and cast himself in a more supporting role and lets other share in what could have been a great deal of glory of a good film. Alas here, as we are reminded so often in the credits (Both at the beginning and at the end of the film in case we somehow forgot) , this is a film of Harpers making.

Do you remember the good old days, when an Englishman's home was his castle? When you could leave your front door unlocked? Every other person down your street was a Pearly King? and every night was spent having a sing-song around the old Joanna at the rub-a- dub, before doing the Lambeth walk all the way home? Well the makers of this film do….Every character in this formulaic tosh is either a cheeky, chirpy, annoying Cock-ernee or is a hulking, growling Jason Statham-a-like who'll screw your head off your shoulders for looking sideways at his pint. St Georges day seems to be aimed at a typical 15- 22 year old lads mag audience and fair enough, but there isn't enough meat on the bones here for even the most easily pleased "Nuts" magazine reader. The sex isn't sexy enough, the comic bits aren't funny and you'll see better orchestrated violence in any town centre Kebab shop on a Saturday night. The plot is paper thin (The Russian Mafia …How very 80's….Missing Cocaine….How original "2 out of 10. See me at the end of class")

The acting is as wooden as a crate of light ale. And middle aged men ruminating on World war 2 and what being an Englishman is all about, still yearning for the good old days, just smacks of lazy writing & casual racism. At times this almost plays out as a recruiting film for the English Defence League. No doubt a few knuckle draggers will get something out of the casual violence, drug taking and football thuggery but everyone else please steer well clear of this load of old Pony*

* Cockney rhyming slang….Pony & Trap = CRAP

It took me a while to finally watch this, as I foolishly judged the film by it's IDMB rating (a habit I need to squash, as they've been highly inaccurate in the last year or so).

This film is exactly what you'd expect from the 'British gangster movie' club - The usual suspects, playing their usual parts, with a mix of action, violence, and tough men in nice suits, embroiled in turf wars with foreign mobsters, caught up in the standard situations that you've seen in these kind of films before.

If you're a fan of the genre, and British crime pieces, then I doubt you'll be disappointed, as the acting is up to scratch, it looks polished, and it is leagues ahead of many other cheap efforts from unknown British directors. Frank Harper has been in enough films over the years, some high budget, and others low, that's it not surprising that he is now venturing into the production and directing aspect of the business.

The pace of the film was fine, the characters were easy to accept and follow, there was a fair bit of drama, and it definitely wasn't as 'vulgar' as some are making out, as I've seen far worse, in regards to the over use of swearing, and unnecessary violence.

This is no 'Goodfellas' or 'The Godfather' but who would be expecting that kind of level from this film anyway?

It does what it said on the tin - Solid film, and good casual viewing.

I wrote this review to put some perspective on here, as the 4.5 rating is completely off the mark, and due to the low amount of submissions, it's probably some kind of 'politics'.

Final thought - IMDb ratings are not always justified, and one should probably make up their own mind, rather than rely on them, like I've done in the past. You'll miss out on good films if you do.

7/10

Hey people "Spoiler alert", this movie SUCKS big time. If I could give a film 0 stars believe me I would, I am so annoyed at wasting my time and money seeing this movie I've felt obliged to put pen to paper. This film blatantly copies all the standard Brit Gangster tropes that we've seen before in films such as "Layer cake", "Gangster No 1" etc. but does them all REALLY REALLY BADLY. The story revolves around the protagonists losing a consignment of cocaine belonging to the Russian mafia, Wow what an original concept! The acting is abysmal and wooden to say the least, the dialogue is of the "Not on my Manor you Muppet" quality. The "jokes" are completely unfunny (I cracked a smile maybe twice). The producers have obviously gotten Charles Dance in as a known "Star" thereby trying to give the movie some credibility, (I like Charles Dance, but be honest when was the last movie of any note you saw him in?) Well Charlie obviously had a big Gas/Electric/Tax bill to pay when this job came into his in-box and he looks decidedly uncomfortable and dyspeptic throughout and is obviously just going through the motions. The rest of the cast are actors that you've probably seen in "Eastenders" or "The Bill" or in some other awful Brit flick standing next to Danny Dyer, trying to look hard and act less wooden than him. I notice a previous reviewer comparing this to "The Long Good Friday", well watching St Georges Day seemed as though I'd sat through a very "Long Long Friday" but there the similarity ends. Do yourselves a favour, get a copy of the aforementioned and brilliant "Long Good Friday" with Bob Hoskins acting his socks off in his best ever role, and give this rubbish a miss. There are some good Brit Gangster movies out there.....This isn't one of them by a Long Long way.

I thought this was an all good Brit Gangster flick, Frank Harper did a great job of his first time directorial debut, and some of the camera shots were great, I also like some of the analogies used such as when Craig Fairbrass says "I got 25 good summers left" I like things like that, and thought there were a few thought out well. Craig Fairbrass shinned in this, this was one of his better roles that fitted him. All in all, I would give it a 7/10, only miscast I thought was Jamie Foreman just due to him being in Eastenders and nothing personal.

I think Frank Harper could defo direct some more good things, and look forward to them! The Business was one of my favourite brit flicks, but I think that is a touch of the sun that makes it!

Most of the poor reviews are likely from people with Low T. Whilst not being a masterpiece this is a film for those who like a good escape and enjoy masculine type movies (men and women). The acting is good, the film is slick. Good effort. Solid 7.

So, today i went to the cinema with my Unlimited Card setting my sights on 2 films that clearly weren't doing too well and weren't going to last long. These 2 films where "That's my Boy" and "St Georges Day". After a very average but slightly entertaining viewing of That's my Boy i headed up to the top floor of Cineworld and sat down ready to watch St Georges Day. If i would've known how bad this film was going to be i would never have step foot on the escalator. The movie basically consists of 2 words. One is the F Bomb and the other is another word for testicles. Ironic really because this film is f-in balls. Keeley Hazell; i can only pray that you give up acting right away. She is a contender for the worst actress of all time; even worse than the screaming girls that are always in Superhero films. Anyway i started this day with a tint of optimism and after my first film there was still a hint of positivity. But after seeing this diabolical, nonsensical "film" i can fully understand why there was only 8 people watching it. Thank god for Unlimited cards.

I gave this 10 pure and simple to balance the low score we see on IMDb (would have been 9 anyway) Quality film, I loved it.

You will read reviews of cliché's and there are some, but I mean how many times can a gangster film be made without suffering that? answers on a postcard. I was hooked from start to finish all actors do there job tightly although not to sure on the casting of Jamie Foreman as 'nixon' it's not that he does it badly, but he's a bad guy - always will be.

Zlatko Buric as 'Vlad' is brilliant, he starred in all 3 pusher films and in the UK remake and he is so effective in the role I almost think he really is a big time dealer - Oscar material for sure.

There are some holes in the plot and some loose ends but none detract from the story, if anything they feel a little fudged - the Russian passenger on the drug run, errr what? the 2 deaths of the fans found in the skip bin, I watched all the film and I can't recall either of them, who killed them - assume the Russians but not totally sure?

I could see the ending coming a mile off and I think we all will but give it a chance despite these minor flaws and you will be surprised, how this got only 4.3 on IMDb is beyond me it deserves much more.

I can't recommend this enough, please watch it and don't just be swallowed on a IMDb rating.

Yes, it is a clone of lock stock. Yes, it has holes. Yes, it has some apples and pears BUT it is a good tale, done well.

Kudos to director - I loved it. Credit to all cast inc Craig Fairbrass as he is severely underrated actor and not the 1st time I have thought that, how he does not have a bigger career is beyond me. Nick Moran plays a minor role in the film and tbh he is totally underused, maybe I might have removed those scenes??

BTW the cast is a who's who of gangster films but then they are the best and you will have seen them all in one film or another... is that a bad thing I don't think so.

10/10 for me. Loved it. Certainly be watching this one again

I strongly urge potential film-makers to go and see this film immediately, take copious, methodical notes of how this film has been cast, written, composed and produced Then go and do the exact opposite to have yourself a blockbuster movie.

I'm fortunate that being a cinema advertiser (Just 200 meters from this cinema, you know the deal), I have a pass that gets me in to my local for free, and even then I'm thinking of asking for my money back. I went to see if the reviews, all of which pretty much panned this film could be correct and the truth is they don't tell half the story. Whatever bad review you've read of this film multiply it by a factor of 10.

In 25 odd years of regular cinema-going I don't think I have ever seen a film as bad as this(and I've watched every film Michael Caine has ever made). 10 minutes in and I found myself making shopping lists, looking at my fellow cinema goers (all 11 of them) and trying to figure out if they were having an equally awful time and generally doing anything but being in the moment with this film which completely fails to grab your attention at any level. I'm extremely pleased to note that the figures from boxofficemojo.com are declaring this a complete Turkey apparently it's taken $22,000 in the 2 weeks since it's release. So hopefully it will be released on Videotape any day now hopefully Betamax so as not to bother too many people. Don't give up the day job Mr Harper (whatever that is)

Pretty dire 'Brit Gangster' movie and riddled with the most ridiculous cliches. At least the cast did not break into a rendition of "Knees Up Muver Brown'. I mean does anyone really speak like this for real!?

I think that you only have to read the majority of the reviews both on this board and from independent critics to get an idea of this movie's quality. Don't ignore the reviews. I went today because a friend of mine had a "Bit" part in this and he took me to see it (and paid thankfully). After we'd seen his bit, (which lasted all of 12 seconds) Even he had to agree that it was tripe of the highest order. This movie has absolutely nothing going for it in terms of acting, dialogue or script. Laughably the little "hard nut" fellow off of Eastenders is in it (Not Phil One of the Brannings the little short arse one) He plays a prat-falling, flat footed copper who is outsmarted by the "genius" gangsters at every turn, and if you thought that his acting was cobblers in Eastenders then this turn has to be seen to be believed. I Am now by way of cleansing myself going off to see Judge Dredd which hasn't had brilliant reviews but at least it can't be as bad as this pile of Poop. AVOID AVOID AVOID

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Micky Mannock (Frank Harper) has been talked into doing a cocaine deal with some Russian mobsters, while his cousin Ray Collishaw (Craig Fairbrass) is trying to go straight, and particularly doesn't want to work with said Russians. But he gets talked in anyway, and then the sh!t really hits the fan when the drugs are lost in high seas. The already fragile alliance he had with the Russians is now in tatters, and they end up at war, while to solve the problem co conspirator Albert Ball (Vincent Regan) suggests a diamond smuggling from Amsterdam, whilst other factions of their group get involved in a big football ruckus in Germany- on St. George's Day.

Over the last decade or so, the British Film Industry has created a sort of cult following of these crime/gangster films. One of the more familiar faces to have become known among them is big cockney lad Frank Harper, and with this he marks his directorial debut. It's clear he was working with a very low budget, surprising given the all star cast list on offer here, but with no A list names on board (the closest to big time seemingly Charles Dance in a supporting role), it feels more like a collaboration between mates rather than an all star, sweeping epic. And you only have to watch it to feel this more so.

I must admit I haven't done my best job with the plot summary, but it all just feels so convoluted and disjointed that it was the best I could do. It ends up coming off as a boring, uninteresting gangster story, with all the usual clichés of the genre thrown in without thought and without even any decent violence to satisfy the more immoral of the audience, or even justify the 18 certificate. After all this, as it draws to a close, the film has the nerve to become self indulgent, dragging on well over the hour and a half mark.

Mr. Harper may have a presence that makes him a favourite of Nick Love and the like, but from this evidence it's clear directing really isn't his forte. *

i joined IMDb just to write this review to tell people not to watch this movie as i saw a couple of positive reviews,all i can say is they must of been friends of the director or his family or maybe him himself - i cant imagine anybody thinking this is a good movie.nevermind straight to DVD,it should of gone straight to TV (and a bad station at that).it was awful! was over narrated and in a dull voice.movies with thin plots normally make up for it with loads of action or sex.this had neither.they cast Keeley Hazel for the gangsters girlfriend who for those of you who don't know is absolutely stunning! but i am afraid she is a terrible actress, again maybe she could of made up for it by getting her kit off, well she doesn't.the overall idea could of been good and thats why i watched it but they just didn't pull it off.

I nominate this film for worst voice-over narration of all time. Director/star Frank Harper sounds like he has been forced to read out the phone book in its entirety. Talk about sleepwalking through a project, and it's his own bleeding film, guvnor. Now, Harper is no Danny Dyer, he more than looks the part when playing the London hard man and has been used to good effect by directors like Nick Love and Shane Meadows. Unfortunately, here he's directing himself in the sort of vanity project that would only get funded by the British film industry. He's recruited a veritable who's who of crap gangster and football hooligan films for St George's Day. And Keeley Hazell who gives one of the worst performances ever committed to celluloid. This truly awful effort takes you into a world of Peckham melts, ageing hooligans who keep going on about the war even though they've never been near one, uncharismatic, perma-tanned villains with a hard on for Churchill and cretinous hanger ons, just there to keep the idiotic plot ticking along. What do you mean, no thanks mate! This film is awesome in its crapness. It has no sense of its own absurdity, takes itself very seriously and is all the funnier for it. The only disappointment is that Danny Dyer doesn't turn up and glass a slag. Let's have a sequel please, set on Christmas Day!

St. Georges Day is a debut effort written and directed by eloquent and softly spoken Shakespearean thespian Frank Harper, famous for his roles in The Football Factory and Lock. Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Ritchie, 2008), and let us not forget his scene stealing performance as the bank robber in Kevin and Perry Go Large (Ed Bye, 2000). I thoroughly enjoyed Dexter Fletcher's (who is, of course, briefly in this) directorial debut Wild Bill last year, so maybe this could be another enjoyable treat. He seems to have persuaded all his mates to be in it, the only ones missing are Danny Dyer and Tamer Hassan; maybe they were performing Hamlet at the Old Vic during filming? Well...

I will come back to term 'enjoyable' later if I may? First, a quick review:

It seems Frank Harper has certainly learnt a few things while starring in all these geezer films, in basically that he has cut and pasted all the clichéd plots from these and stuck them all together in what is an absolute narrative mess. This film received consistently horrific reviews, and I have to admit that they are all deserved. St. Georges Day is the most possibly generic and clichéd 'cockeney gangster' film you could imagine. Every cliché in terms of plot and characters is there to see in full clunky and embarrassing glory. I am not going to list them here, but anyone who watches this will be ticking them off in their head almost involuntarily. As for the dialogue, co-written by Frank himself, when there are lines such as "The Price is Right? This isn't the game show you c**t!" or "Two words: Angry Russians", it is basically Eastenders with swearing.

There is a also a very insular and quite racist approach to this film, such as the typical evil Russian gangsters and double crossing Dutch drug dealers. However, what becomes really embarrassing is Frank Harper's deluded sense of patriotism that comes out within the script, there are many occasions where he compares their drugs operation and how they are going to sort out the mess they created to strategies deployed by Churchill and the British armies in both of the world wars. This is both insulting and rather embarrassing to watch; as we have to remember that these men are criminals despite whatever 'moral code' they follow. There are many voice-over scenes, usually with Frank Harper looking pensive on some riverside where he tries to justify to us why he is essentially a criminal. He often mentions things like 'loyalty' and tells us that he never killed anyone that "didn't deserve it or would have done the same thing to him". No Frank, you are criminals, you are not the good guys. Even the police are portrayed as bad guys for simply doing their job; does Frank really think we are that stupid? Also, it is worth saying that Keeley Hazell stars in her debut film role and is shocking, though let us face it, she is not there for her acting is she? She also plays Mickey's girlfriend and there are many scenes where Frank Harper gets to kiss her. Hang on! Isn't Frank Harper writer, actor, director and producer? Indeed he is. Oh, Frank, you dirty old man! However, her character as 'Peckham Princess' (No, me neither) is beyond caricature, as with all the women here who are simply portrayed in a shamefully misogynistic way. However, this just adds to the list of generic narrow minded stereotyping like evil Russians, drugged up crazy Dutch people, angry Scottish people etc.

Now, I will return to the phrase 'enjoyable', and though I may well be contradicting what I have previously just said, but I must confess that I found St. Georges Day extremely enjoyable. This does come with a proviso though: If you take St. Georges Day with a pinch of salt, and when you see a cast list like that (maybe with the exception of Charles Dance – maybe a marketing ploy?) how on earth can you take this film seriously? I went into this film expecting ridiculous nonsense and was not disappointed; I must confess that it frequently made me laugh. It is obvious that Frank Harper thinks he is making the Citizen Kane of British gangster films. St. Georges Day takes itself so ridiculously seriously; this almost makes it even funnier to watch. You never laugh with it, but frequently at it and because of this I will confess that I actually really enjoyed it, though certainly not for any of the reasons dear old (now officially an auteur) Frank Harper would want.

In summary: Predictable, clichéd, crap. This is the definitive British gangster film in that every cliché and caricature is there to see, all put together by the chunkiest script imaginable. However, this may well be (unintentionally) one of the funniest British films of recent years.

You probably know Frank Harper from pretty much every British gangster film (he was 'Dog' in Lock Stock). Now, he's taken to writing and directing one of his own. St George's Day tells the story of two London gangsters who lose a shipment of drugs that belong to the Russian Mafia and have to pull off a heist to get the money to pay it back.

Yes, it's hardly an inspired plot, but, when you watch it, you'll soon realise that that's the least of its problems. Frank Harper narrates pretty much the whole way through, giving his 'patriotic' thoughts and opinions on the story, plus introducing every character along the way. And there are many. Every other scene has a new gangster who gets his own intro from Frank, most of which are hardly seen again in the film.

Unfortunately, St George's Day utilises every cliché in the book. Every line sounds like someone doing a bad impression of what they think a cockney would say. After a while, you start to wonder how quite a talented bunch of actors were ever roped into this film to begin with. I say 'talented actors' as most of them are. However, this doesn't apply to former Page 3 girl turned 'actress' Keeley Hazell. She is truly wooden beyond belief.

St George's Day brings nothing new to the genre of gangster films. It's clichéd, boring, overly-long and just bad. One to avoid. Stick with Lock Stock and Snatch.

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I can highly recommend this film. It has everything that I need from a movie and I completely lost myself for the duration of it. Hold onto your seats because it is an action packed roller coaster of a journey through 3 very photogenic cities and the locations look fantastic. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful and the music is perfect. It has an amazing cast with some truly memorable dialogue that will have you laughing out loud. This film will stand the test of time and is the best British gangster film since 'The Long Good Friday'. I am so looking forward to a sequel. Go and see it! Go and see it! Go and see it!

After appearing in several Brit-flick gangster films Frank Harper has decided to test himself at directing his own. Unfortunately it has not gone to plan. The film failed to hold my attention after maybe ten minutes, when I realised it is just another film filled with tired London gangster film clichés. It wasn't that it was badly acted, just that the storyline failed to interest me in anyway and the characters much the same. Please take note Frank, it's not enough to just throw Russians, drug deals gone wrong and some cockney slang into the mix and think you have a film. Best to avoid this film you will be doing yourselves a favour.