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Overall Rating
3.85

Awesome43.38%
Worth A Look: 25%
Average: 16.18%
Pretty Bad: 4.41%
Total Crap: 11.03%

6 reviews, 100 user ratings


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Sexy Beast
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by Brian McKay

"Not Guy Richie's best film - oh wait, Guy Richie DIDN'T make this?"
3 stars

This Dark Brit gangster comedy tries to borrow a lot from films like "Snatch" both thematically and stylistically, with a odd little twist of "Donnie Darko" thrown in (think man-sized menacing metaphorical rabbits).

But while Kingsley's role as the head-shaven psycho is fairly intense, Sexy Beast seems to be lacking the kind of quirky characters and sharp, clever dialogue needed to make this kind of film work. And unless you're really up on your Brit and cockney accents, you might want to turn the subtitles on or be prepared to hit the back-scan button frequently.

Although Kingsley got the top billing for this film, the story revolves around retired thief Gal (Ray Winstone) who is living a seemingly charmed life in a Spanish villa with his hot ex-pornstar wife DeeDee (Amanda Redman, who has some of the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on an actress). Out of the blue, volatile gangster Don Logan (Kingsley) shows up from the UK to convince Gal to head back for "one last job". What follows is a tug of war between the reticent Gal and the intimidating Don.

The supporting cast does a competent job, and while Kingsley certainly brings the right touch of menace and instability to his character, it isn't exactly the breakout role that everyone has raved about. We already know that Kingsley is a good actor capable of some great work. Playing a psychotic thug of limited intelligence isn't exactly a Ghandi-caliber Oscar nomination follow-up. Meanwhile, first-time director Jonathan Glazer tries so hard to be Guy Richie, without looking like he's trying to be.

Not to say that this is a bad film. There are some laughs, as well as some intense moments. But the film's short running time is a good indicator that there wasn't really anywhere for this to go, and most of the tacked on "heist" aspect of the film seems like a stretch to give it a reasonable running time.

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link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=4490&reviewer=258
originally posted: 07/16/02 07:21:59
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User Comments

8/09/09 s pandy good 5 stars
11/01/08 Shaun Wallner Interesting Movie! 5 stars
10/11/08 brian YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!!! 4 stars
9/25/08 parasvati great film, and (surprise!) a lovely love story-- but a very, very dark take on life-- 5 stars
8/07/08 tom palmer very very good. 5 stars
1/19/08 india good 5 stars
10/20/07 kunjesh i want to seen a sexy film 5 stars
9/24/07 Jim Zebo Great. but he didn't have to piss on the floor and why didn't someone (the kid?) kill him. 4 stars
9/15/07 divyang sexy 1 stars
7/26/07 parasvati full of cognitive dissonance, creepy, but really, really good 4 stars
7/12/07 Edward Shandis I'm a sexy beast!!!!!!! 5 stars
3/08/07 sammy lovely film 5 stars
1/26/07 Artist Bill had to watch again to understand....Gritty!! 4 stars
11/25/06 alan price a chilling insite to the mind of a psycho. 5 stars
10/13/06 Manni nice movie 4 stars
7/09/06 sreedhar so beautiful 1 stars
6/22/06 Jack Sommersby Good-looking but empty and derivative. 1 stars
5/31/06 stephanie willis Ben Kingsley, as you've never seen him 4 stars
3/30/06 ankukr anana 5 stars
12/05/05 fred definitely worth it, even if only for kingsley's explosive and rabid performance 5 stars
7/27/05 Indrid Cold The browbeating delivered by Kingsley becomes hilarious, and not in a particularly good way 3 stars
6/09/05 Bluto Ian McShane as Teddy was best, scary guy 5 stars
6/09/05 jon sad 3 stars
3/18/05 hhhh good 5 stars
1/27/05 MyGreenBed Overrated, decent concept though horribly tiresome genre (gangster, haven't we seen enough) 3 stars
1/06/05 Asaad very nice 1 stars
11/19/04 brenda jones disturbing 1 stars
11/04/04 suresh sexey movies 2 stars
11/02/04 LIly's mom Superb, original, all good performances, fun 5 stars
10/03/04 Daveman Overrated, no substance beneath the style, but it's too "cool" to dismiss completely. 3 stars
8/06/04 DM Ben Kingsley kicks ass; but what happened to the rest of the movie? 3 stars
6/21/04 Dick Logan Great film, great directing, Kingsley is the bomb!! 5 stars
4/27/04 dung your best film 4 stars
3/16/04 Deanna from Indiana understated Winstone cool, Kingsley terrific. No spoon fed plots here 5 stars
3/07/04 malcolm you've got to like this movie. yes, you do. come on, then. yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes-yes 4 stars
2/24/04 Jonni Fantastic cinematography. Great story 5 stars
1/23/04 steve Booth Just to watch Ben Kingsley and the fear he puts into the other cast members without doing a 5 stars
1/21/04 tatum Great direction hides standard script 4 stars
12/28/03 bert bakker No story and no suspence in a wink of an eye. 2 stars
10/04/03 Alfred C. No...I think you're going to have to turn this movie YES!!...Great film...can't get enough! 5 stars
10/01/03 nick Ben Kinsley is a master chameleon. Best movie of the year for me! 5 stars
9/22/03 kill quacky the title sounds gay 4 stars
6/12/03 Logan, Don What's that cunt 5 stars
5/08/03 Alexander McDowell This filmes is the most terrifici film of Ben Kingsley 5 stars
4/20/03 Goofy Maxwell Cocksure gangster cum demonic rabbit goes off on Cockney crook wit da rocks to roll da mob. 4 stars
4/17/03 rx dx stellar performance. not an action film, but an outstanding character film. 5 stars
4/14/03 LIAM JACKSON ben kingsley rocked! he proves a point: if someone is disrespecting you,fucking batter them 5 stars
4/01/03 Dave Cliched, but stylish gangster movie that puts overrated films like Lock Stock to shame. 4 stars
3/03/03 Jack Sommersby Overly mannered, cliche-ridden crime flick. Showy camerawork is only asset. 1 stars
2/08/03 natasha_theobald brilliant performances, amazing things to see, wit and menace 5 stars
1/29/03 spacecowboy intense 5 stars
12/27/02 RAVIKUMAR I LOVE MOVIES 2 stars
10/30/02 Bluto Teddy scared me 5 stars
9/29/02 Peter Sherlock Great no worries. 5 stars
9/18/02 Andy Hards A return to the classic British Gangster Movie, Ben Kingsley still scares me 5 stars
9/11/02 Francofile Some of the most gut-level, plausible fear ever on screen. Raw, mature performances. 4 stars
8/19/02 Mr. Hat (I'm Back!) I don't know why people were saying it was so scary. It's actually funny...on purpose! 3 stars
8/18/02 Larry O'Connor Perfect casting 5 stars
8/09/02 billywood always be good 2 stars
7/12/02 ran bad 5 stars
7/12/02 Katrina Disappointing, actually 3 stars
5/23/02 Adrian Kingsley is Scary! 5 stars
5/15/02 Peet A perfect film, beautifully written, acted, shot and directed. 5 stars
5/13/02 Caiphn I had to turn the subtitles on. What's with the rabbit? 4 stars
4/29/02 zxy ok 5 stars
4/13/02 John Watson "Phil M. Afficianado" stick to video games 4 stars
4/06/02 Dave MacDougall i couldn't understand a word...and i still liked it... 3 stars
4/02/02 Gemini Not too bad. Kingsley is great and so is Winstone. The movie worked out great. 5 stars
3/24/02 dave vousden brilliant, life like 5 stars
3/22/02 The Bomb 69 need subtitles to enjoy, not much about the caper itself but strong performances 5 stars
3/19/02 Spyguy2 Watch it on DVD and add subtitles...quirky, cool little film...Kingsley is an amazing actor 4 stars
3/18/02 john b excellent 4 stars
3/16/02 Gold Medal No Ghandi here 4 stars
3/13/02 Phil M. Afficianado very nearly total crap; dialog unintelligible and pointless flick. 2 stars
3/13/02 ÌäÓ ma_2003 3 stars
3/07/02 Ike The BEST 5 stars
2/19/02 sd good score as well 4 stars
1/21/02 BumperFish The best movie I've seen this year! 5 stars
1/05/02 Lesley I loved it. 5 stars
12/06/01 Linda Frost Excellent film.. 4 stars
11/24/01 Ellis Best film of the year 5 stars
10/25/01 Bill Gains Very good, but not as good (read: violent) as Gangster No. 1 5 stars
10/24/01 tom turley thats sexy 4 stars
9/25/01 bluebeena Interesting... hard to understand at times. 4 stars
8/29/01 Benjamin Allen Very Good, Great Camera Work 4 stars
8/28/01 Kooler extraordinary performances from Kingsley et al 5 stars
8/24/01 stan a much better than average film 4 stars
8/23/01 Kevin I wish I could get that 2 hours of my life back 1 stars
8/18/01 matthew smith kingsley adds a touch of menace that goes under your skin 4 stars
7/27/01 Reverend Krule Chilling watching kingsley at work. brilliant film 5 stars
7/20/01 skye lots of fun. original. evenifwedon'tknowwhat'sgoingon.orwhy.orbelieveit.ben's scary! 3 stars
7/15/01 malcolm Kingsley is incredible. much of dialogue is hard to understand w/heavy English accents. 4 stars
7/10/01 Ed Jepson Hypnotic 5 stars
7/05/01 Gronk U Lator Powerhouse Kingsley performance. Everything else is windowdressing. 4 stars
7/05/01 Newmarket Movie Warrior The worst piece of trash I have ever had to pay $12.50 plus tax to see! 1 stars
6/23/01 Silly Me Kingsley is awesome but the movie is awful and a waste of time. 2 stars
6/19/01 Heather Ignore the morons who have posted here, Kingsley is amazing, definitely one to look out for 5 stars
6/15/01 Denis Pedregosa Superb 5 stars
5/28/01 Vandemaele Kurt Nothing really new but Winstone is a winner and Kingsley is kingsize 4 stars
1/29/01 rubber This was the worst movie I've seen in a long time,it's nothing but a stretched out TV drama 1 stars
IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA
  13-Jun-2001 (R)

UK
  N/A

Australia
  16-Aug-2001 (MA)



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