Reviewer's Rating 3 out of 5
24 Hours in London (2000)
18

It's always a good idea for inexperienced directors to be put on a leash by seasoned producers just in case the newcomers start entertaining daft notions of creative freedom. That way, they can be offered sound advice on which scenes should be left in, which left out, where the film needs fattening up or thinning out, and where ambition has begun to exceed ability. This last sin is, sadly, the hallmark of director Alexander Finbow who must have spent his entire time on set wandering about without a lead. Where is the producer when you need him? Probably, in the case of "24 Hours In London," weeping or fantasising about the kind of money he'll never make from this film.

And, wouldn't you just know it, "24 Hours In London" is yet another awful gangster flick, a messy mish-mash which is striving so hard that a fairly simple story has no chance of getting out. It's a futuristic crime thriller, set in 2009, about a violent villain (Gary Olson) whose ambitions include America, plans that are now shaky given that he is saddled with a witness (Anjela Lauren Smith) to a killing. On to this hunt-the-witness chase are bolted corrupt policemen, double-crossings, twists aplenty, flat acting and way too many borrowings from other, better films. The producer clearly thought the script was ready to shoot. Now that was the biggest mistake of all.

End Credits

Director: Alexander Finbow

Stars: Gary Olsen, Anjela Lauren Smith, Amita Dhiri

Genre: Drama

Length: 93 minutes

Cinema: 14 July 2000

Country: UK

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