Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLegacy: Black Ops (2011)
Director: Thomas Ikami
Movie review
From Time Out London
Thomas Ikimi’s slow burner is set for the most part in a shabby New York apartment where a paranoid ex-Black Ops soldier (Idris Elba from ‘The Wire’) is evading arrest for desertion while desperately trying to separate fantasy from reality. Despite a sense of impending post-traumatic-stress-induced madness, Malcolm Gray’s mindset is sufficiently lucid to recall the terrifying moment his Black Ops colleagues were slaughtered by gun-dealing eastern Europeans. Does the papertrail of evidence really suggest a political set-up by someone within his own family? Or is he simply losing his mind?Don’t let the ‘Black Ops’ label lead you down the wrong path. While there is a semblance of ‘Call of Duty’-style action during the opening sequence, for the most part British-born Nigerian director Ikimi’s quietly impressive second feature functions as a taut, claustrophobic psychological thriller that requires a fair degree of alertness and a modicum of patience to see it through to its impassioned climax. Ikimi’s dialogue-heavy screenplay is a trifle wearing and a mite too rambling, but there are few misgivings about Elba’s rivetingly naturalistic performance.
Author: Derek Adams
Time Out London Issue 2116: 10 – 16 March, 2011
Cast & crew
Director: Thomas Ikami
Cast: Idris Elba, William Hope, Monique Gabriela Curnen
Genre(s): War
Rated: 15
Duration: 115 mins
UK Release: Mar 11 2011
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now