IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / LAYER CAKE
Layer Cake

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
See Pictures
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

Layer Cake (2005)

80%
83%
86%
N/A
N/A
N/A
80 %
Reviews Counted: 123 Fresh: 98  Rotten:25 Average Rating: 7.1/10
 
Consensus: A stylized, electric British crime thriller.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Theatrical Release: May 13, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $2,277,736

Synopsis: LAYER CAKE, a riveting thriller set in the drug underworld of the UK, marks the directorial debut of producer Mathew Vaughn (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) and stars Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller and Michael... LAYER CAKE, a riveting thriller set in the drug underworld of the UK, marks the directorial debut of producer Mathew Vaughn (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) and stars Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller and Michael Gambon. Sleek, well dressed and polite, our unnamed hero (Daniel Craig) is a consummate professional. Treating cocaine and ecstasy like any other commodity, he has made a fortune for himself by keeping his hands clean and staying under the radar. Having made the decision to retire, his aim is to break free from the world of crime, drugs and violence and live a simple, quiet life with the money he has amassed. But before this can happen, crime boss Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) wants two last favors from him. First, he must track down the missing, drug addict daughter of powerful criminal Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon). Second, he must negotiate the sale of a huge shipment of ecstasy with The Duke (Jamie Foreman), a loose cannon petty crook playing well out of his league. What should be routine transaction is anything but and nothing goes according to plan. Instead, duplicity and hidden alliances become the order of the day, in a struggle for power that reaches from the crack dens of London to the highest ranks of British society. Quickly he learns he is part of a machine much greater than he imagined, and getting out won't be quite as easy as getting in. Sony Pictures Classics presents a Matthew Vaughn Production, LAYER CAKE, starring Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller and Michael Gambon. Written by author J.J. Connolly (adapted from his novel of the same name), the film is produced by Vaughn, David Reid and Adam Bohling. The Executive Producer is Stephen Marks, Director of Photography is Ben Davis, Editor is Jon Davis and Production Designer is Kave Quinn. [More]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Screenwriter: J.J. Connolly
Producer: Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 13, 2007

[DVD Details]

Blu-Ray Features:

  • Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • PCM 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai - Optional

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image
4/5

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Ratings Image
B

Intense story about low-level organized crime figures embroiled in a deadly conspiracy.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/10/06
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image
6/10

protagonist's narration puts the film's complex plot into much broader economic, political and cultural context.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/17/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
A-

A smart thrill ride with one magnificent finish.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/07/05
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
09/26/05
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image
4/5

Fun stuff indeed, even if you might need the subtitles to help decipher all the Britspeak.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/23/05
Scott Weinberg
DVD Clinic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/29/05
Sydney Morning Herald
Ratings Image
B

It does nothing revolutionary, but it handles the basics with entertaining aplomb.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/28/05
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
Ratings Image
7/10

Just following what is going on is a big job, but the film has its rewards.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/08/05
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Ratings Image
85/100

Clean, crisp and gratifying, you'd be hard pressed to find a better British film this year.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/05/05
Dan Chant
FilmFocus
Ratings Image
N/A

Layer Cake is not the most original or memorable picture in the world, but it's a great calling card for Vaughn.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/05/05
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal
Ratings Image
3.5/4

This is one of the few movies for which I can’t tell you the name of the “hero.”

Full Review | comment Comment
06/27/05
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)
Ratings Image
3/4

It's nothing we haven't seen before, but Vaughn invests it with enough style and energy to make it worth the trip.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/21/05
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Ratings Image
N/A

I like Layer Cake a lot.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/20/05
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

...a delicious crime melodrama, with colorful characters, lots of action and violence, double and triple crosses, and a few fresh surprises of its own.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/19/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Ratings Image
3/4

...Michael Vaughn, has cooked up a tasty treat in his directorial debut, somewhere between Mike Hodges' cool and Guy Ritchie's out-of-control Smoking Barrels.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/15/05
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
Ratings Image
N/A

It’s occasionally taut and clever enough to hold audience attention, but ultimately has little substance to accompany its cool exterior.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
06/14/05
Todd Jorgenson
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)
Ratings Image
4/5

Crime caper in the style of Guy Ritchie, but better.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/14/05
Jeff Otto
IGN Movies
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
See More Topics...

Related Forums

"OCEAN'S 14" with Daniel Craig, on YouTube! Link is here...
by: angelkenshin 8/10/07


Darko, Donnie
LAYER CAKE - ****e, when you're the middle man you get squeezed both from both ends!
by: Darko, Donnie 9/21/05


Young Turk
Matt Vaughn better make more gangster flicks
by: Young Turk 7/23/05


'Layer Cake' Adds Unexpected Substance
by: MH and THE MOVIES 6/4/05


Layer Cake - Review with Spoilers
by: martell 5/29/05
all

Pictures

all

Trailers & Clips

Layer Cake Trailer
Watch Now >>
all

News

RT on DVD: The Simpsons, Stardust, and More!
posted by Jen Yamato December 17, 2007
This week the shelves are packed, and just in time for the holidays! Check out the long-awaited big-screen debut of...


Matthew Vaughn To Helm Thor
posted by Jeff Giles August 08, 2007
Ain't It Cool News recently caught up with director Matthew Vaughn for a chat about projects past (Layer Cake), present...


Another Superhero Movie! "Thor" is Coming!
posted by Scott Weinberg June 14, 2007
He's a Norse god with a giant hammer. Bring on the bad guys!


RT-UK Exclusive: Edit Suite Report and New Pics for "Stardust"
posted by Joe Utichi March 22, 2007
In an otherwise unremarkable office building in London's trendy Soho, the clichés are out in force; magic is being...

Around the Network

• Layer Cake at Rotten Tomatoes
• Layer Cake at IGN
• Layer Cake at AskMen
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.