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Movies / On DVD / Layer Cake
Layer Cake

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Layer Cake (2005)

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Reviews Counted:128

Fresh:103

Rotten:25

Average Rating:7.1/10

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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81 - 100 (sorted by date)
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Everyone is believable, sometimes frighteningly so.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
05/21/05
Hanh Nguyen
Hanh Nguyen
Zap2it.com

A stylish, dynamic thicket of thorny underworld twists and deceptions.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
05/20/05
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

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 virile British bounce off the Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee films and some hyper-hip TV shows.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
05/20/05
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

It's hard to remember an American gangster film that has been as brazenly entertaining as Layer Cake.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment 1 Comment
05/20/05
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Features a plot anyone over 16 has seen at least a dozen times, with slick but completely unoriginal directing by Matthew Vaughn.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
05/20/05
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

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

Gets by courtesy of a fierce, wounded performance by Craig, whose icy blue eyes and serene pragmatism offer a convincing ballast to Layer Cake’s pop violence.

Full Review Source: Now Playing Magazine | comment Comment
05/20/05
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Now Playing Magazine

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Craig] is a great anti-hero, tough yet vulnerable, conflicted and amused, sincere and scared, without a hint of any of it on his sleeve.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
05/19/05
Allison Benedikt
Allison Benedikt
Chicago Tribune

A snap, crackle, pop mobster classic.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/18/05
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Half-baked--astronomically high in cinematic calories but very low in nutritional value.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment 1 Comment
05/17/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Though style ultimately outweighs substance, the film is formidably entertaining.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/13/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

As choices for a night's entertainment, well, you'd do better with a pint of Bass.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
05/13/05
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The extra attention the film demands will be richly rewarded--especially with lead Daniel Craig's hilarious, and genuinely cool perfromance.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
05/13/05
Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny
Premiere Magazine

Layer Cake doesn't offer much that we haven't seen before.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
05/13/05
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Layer Cake is laced with flashbacks and stylistic tics, but it never loses its forward momentum, and to the last shot, it avoids predictability.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
05/13/05
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Vaughn's film falls short of Goodfellas, but thanks to his ability to organize a complex story and bold, color-drenched photography by Ben Davis, Layer Cake is a cocked fist of a movie, impossible to ignore.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
05/13/05
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Leanly muscled British actor Daniel Craig gives a star-making performance in Layer Cake, the latest in the recent wave of stylish and ultra-violent gangster films from across the pond.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
05/13/05
Timothy Knight
Timothy Knight
Reel.com
 
 
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