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Movies / On DVD / Layer Cake
Layer Cake

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Layer Cake (2005)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:25

Rotten:5

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: A stylized, electric British crime thriller.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong brutal violence, sexuality, nudity, pervasive language and drug use.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

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... 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]

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

Starring: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Kenneth Cranham, Marcel Iures, Tom Hardy, Tamer Hassan, Sally Hawkins

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Screenwriter: J.J. Connolly
Producer: Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Release:

Mar 13, 2007

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Reviews for Layer Cake

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/29/08
Leslie Felperin
Leslie Felperin
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I like Layer Cake a lot.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
06/20/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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It's a little bleak, a little twisted, a little gory, and a lot funny.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
06/11/05
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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The film is lamentably short of narrative coherence.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
06/10/05
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
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The intricate thing dodges and feints and twists this way and turns that way until, by the time of the alleged resolution, we've lost our bearings completely.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
06/10/05
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It has more heft than the Ritchie movies.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/02/05
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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A masterly, intricately plotted crime story.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/02/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a stylish and classic gangster saga about the clashing of rival empires, where the only thing worse than the killer before you is the killer waiting behind him.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/27/05
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An exercise in high style, high octane and low-key suaveness.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/27/05
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
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A gangster film, despite what its title suggests, that ranks with the best of the genre.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
05/27/05
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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Bloody good fun a great deal of the time. Love the accents. Love the guns. Bang-bang.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
05/27/05
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
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May be a worthy successor to a busy genre, but it is not an inventive inheritor.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
05/27/05
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
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An appropriately hard-boiled quality runs through the movie, and the cast (from top to bottom) brings its best, putting the frosting on this nasty bit of Layer Cake.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
05/27/05
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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As good as the story and direction may be, much of the film's success is up to Daniel Craig.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
05/27/05
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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Layer Cake has sizzle, but it also offers plenty of steak.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
05/26/05
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In the end, Layer Cake serves up the just desserts.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/26/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The special appeal of Layer Cake derives from its efficient, gripping story and from the personality of the unnamed protagonist.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
05/20/05
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A propulsive drug-world movie that dutifully covers similar ground in and around London: guns, chicks, inventive use of the F word, expensive-looking locations, designer stuff, and so on.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/20/05
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Craig is fascinating here as a criminal who is very smart, and finds that is not an advantage because while you might be able to figure out what another smart person is about to do, dumbos like the men he works for are likely to do anything.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
05/20/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A corrosive confection of style and bile, its gleaming, butter cream-frosted contours not really concealing the crumbs who have curdled British society with their drugs.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
05/19/05
Bruce Newman
Bruce Newman
San Jose Mercury News
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