Layer Cake

This is one of those movies that is hard to classify. The plot is scattered all over the place, it revolves around one man, xxxx as his name is not given, played by Daniel Craig who is trying to retire from the cocaine business but before he does, he must find his boss's friends daughter who dissapeared. xxxx must also finish a massive drug deal with a loud mouth jackass named 'the duke.' later it is discovered that the duke stole these drugs so xxxx must also now compete with a serbian assassin sent to kill him because the people the duke stole from thought he was working for xxxx. this film was obviously adapted for the screen by the person who wrote the book because there was so much packed into this two hour affair that it was a blur of mayhem. the director, mathew vaughn in his first directing gig after producing the guy ritchie films 'snatch' and 'lock stock and two smoking barrells' shows the flash of his mate ritchie with numerous fancy transitions and camera affects but cant convey this story into a workable plot as it would likely work well as a six hour mini series on the BBC. the actors work well together, mr. craig's star is rising as he is funny and offbeat in his role as xxxx, the witty drug dealer. colm meany and george harris two UK film regulars team in many scenes to make people crack up at the ridiculusness of their scenes together. michael gambon appears extremely over tanned as the friend of xxxx's boss who has had his daughter kidnapped. he is his usual bizaar self as a business man who is so money driven, the fact that his daughter has been kidnapped seems minute compared to his desire to make a deal for the duke's drugs. in my opinion though, as a man, the beyond belief beauty of sienna miller is the best part of the movie as she is stripping in the bathroom, xxxx is kidnapped, a hysterical scene that is also one where i said 'NOOOOO!' to myself at missing an opportunity to see more of ms. miller. the movie also contains many bit roles being played by regulars in mr. ritchies movies including dexter fletcher who played soap in 'lock stock.' this film on a whole was difficult to take in all at once, which is why it didnt meet my expectations but the flash and skill of mr. vaugh and the out of place scenes where i found my self laughing hard out loud saved this film. one of the better films i have seen all year, up ther with star wars. (review coming soon!) overall, a 8.5/10