Layer Cake (2004)

(On DVD, August 2006) From the assured opening narration (from an unnamed narrator who credibly claims to be a businessman whose trade happens to be illegal), we’re easily swept along this criminal tale. There are twists, there are turns and there’s a joyously mean ending twist. As a movie, this is somewhere between Guy Richie and Martin Scorsese, mixing wry dark humour with an insider’s look inside the criminal trade, carried along with a tight plot and interesting characters. Daniel Craig continues to demonstrate why he was picked to be the next Bond with a performance that is both intelligent and brutal. It’s hardly perfect (there’s at least one abrupt change of heart for the protagonist, and one development that’s hard to justify), but it’s fun and ultimately that’s more than enough to satisfy anyone looking for a fix of glamorized crime fiction.