It’s great to see an action film acknowledge that there is more to the UK than simply London. This proudly northeastern film makes good use of its locations and a cast that mostly have roots in the area, but in its plot and sometimes its tone it feels retro rather than fresh.
Our hero is Jack Dawson (The Invisible Man’s Oliver Jackson-Cohen, convincing), a former motocross champion-turned-soldier who returns from the army to look after his brother Simon (a highly likeable Leon Harrop). Unfortunately, his way of doing this is to agree to a pick-up for a local drug dealer, which inevitably goes wrong. Cue anonymous bad guys chasing him and Simon disappearing, sending Jack on a revenge-stroke-retrieval race against time.
There are effective action set pieces from writer-director Jamie Childs, a veteran of big-budget TV who uses his locations cleverly and who has a strong cast to work with: Thomas Turgoose provides light touches, Jenna Coleman plays a femme fatale and Vivienne Acheampong pops up to steal a scene. But the overbearing soundtrack from Deadly Avenger and Si Begg can’t paper over a plot that feels familiar and the distinctly ’90s tone – perhaps due to the weak villains. There’s commendable ambition here, but Jackdaw can’t fly the flag for the northeast quite as high as it might like.
In UK cinemas Jan 26
