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30 out of 44 people found the following review useful: Pulp fiction meets Brookside! Joy!, 10 December 2001 Author: Graham Hughes from Liverpool, England
OK, so the `what' British film industry needs another gangster-flick about as much as Zsa-Zsa Gabor needs another facelift, but this film is worth a look just for the fact that it's not set in London (hurrah!), it's very funny and it features Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt. Coming from Liverpool myself, I loved the fact that someone has taken the effort to make a decent film about my city (the last film set in Liverpool was ‘Beneath the Skin' – shoe-gazing rubbish with Samantha Morton, who couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag). Energetically directed by Yu, with flamboyant performances by Carlyle, Ifans et al. 51st State is difficult not to enjoy. Okay, so it's not very deep and meaningful, and the plot may have been done a thousand times before, but that could just about describe almost every film that Hollywood has churned out this year. With film, as with any other entertainment medium, it ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it.Moaning about the ‘dodgy' accents or the depiction of Liverpool as a haven for drug dealers and corrupt policemen is pointless nit-picking and should not detract from the fact that 51st State is a lively, refreshing and ultimately entertaining two hours worth of celluloid. It is also a damn sight better than all the British-films-not-made-by-Working-Title that have been released this year.
42 out of 69 people found the following review useful: Formula 51 (as it's also known) rocks!, 9 May 2004 Author: (ehawke@sympatico.ca) from Canada
What do you get when you put Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Meatloaf, Rhys Ifans, and Emily Mortimer together in a movie? A rollicking good time! This movie is pure entertainment and has some very, very funny moments. The dialogue is mostly tongue-in-cheek and snappy. The soundtrack is excellent (this coming from someone who doesn't really like techno, club, rap, or hip-hop music), and I would definitely buy this movie to watch again. It may not be for everyone, but the cast is first-rate; the story line believable, and seeing Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt couldn't be beat! I give this movie a 9 out of 10. It's not Academy Award material, but who cares!
35 out of 59 people found the following review useful: State of surprise at sleeper hit, 19 April 2004 Author: Mr Ben from Hampshire, England
I remember this being a film I wanted to watch when it was released in the cinemas but I never got a chance to see it. It didn't help when Mum raved about it after watching it on Sky. So last night, Channel 4 gave me the perfect excuse for being late for work today - by showing this film and "Hard Boiled", I'll be a few minutes late after writing the reviews. Yay!Back to "The 51st State" which revolves around Samuel L Jackson, a master chemist and drug producer who flies to Liverpool to secure the final "big deal" before his imminent retirement. The always fantastic Robert Carlyle is Felix, his contact and unwitting accomplice when things go wrong - as they always do in these sort of circumstances. Haven't they played GTA: Vice City? Anyway, the film is a stylish and comical action thriller with it's unusual setting, eccentric characters and unexpected comic twists. Jackson is, without a doubt, the coolest actor in moviedom at the moment. Only he could pull off wearing a kilt in a movie without looking a moron. Carlyle is perhaps a little excessive on the language (both in volume and content) but plays the Scouse stereotype perfectly. One thing this film does very well: almost every Scouse stereotype you can think of is there - car thief, misguided support for Liverpool, skin heads, every third word an expletive. The only unbelievable segment was the car chase which would never have reached the speeds it did in an actual Liverpool street.Despite this, "The 51st State" is a fast-paced and well-made film which deserves more credit than it currently gets. I approached this film thinking that its gimmick was its setting - Liverpool is a million miles from downtown LA or New York, let's face it. But not so - there are so many oddball characters to make the film interesting that Sean Pertwee's straight-faced turn as a dirty cop seems out of place. Everyone else has their tongue firmly in their cheek. The sight of Jackson in a mammoth Seventies afro haircut signals this movie's intentions right from the start (and finish).I have no hesitation in recommending this film. It will undoubtedly appeal to British viewers more than Americans but who cares - it's so refreshing to see that we can make movies like this with a largely British cast at such a standard. Jackson is so cool, it's like he's walking on dry ice and steals every scene he is in. "The 51st State" really does have something for everyone and I'm finding it very hard to find something not to like about this film. It's no "Face/Off" but it's still an enjoyable and exciting film, one which you really should see. Shame you missed it at the cinema, though.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Just say no to the red pills, 7 April 2008 Author: Tweekums from United Kingdom
From start to finish this film is a great laugh, it never takes itself seriously. The characters aren't consciously making jokes, what they say is just inherently funny. Be warned though if you don't like swearing in your films this isn't the one for you as just about every line contains more than one obscenity.The film stars Samuel L Jackson as an ultra-cool, kilt wearing drugs chemist wanting to make one high-profit deal, Robert Carlyle as a Liverpool gangster and Emily Mortimer as the hottest assassin I've seen in a film.I won't post any spoilers but if you enjoy films with car chases, funny dialogue and over the top action involving guns, golf clubs and heavy duty laxatives then this is the film for you.
9 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Worth a watch, 19 March 2007 Author: mike. g3 from United Kingdom
The 51st State is certainly no classic, but its funny and has a half-decent storyline. Being from the Liverpool area, I'm glad to see a film set there, even if it is about crime. Samuel L. Jackson is as cool as ever as kilt-wearin', drug-dealin' Elmo McElroy, and Robert Carlyle is in good form as Felix DeSouza, desperately trying to get himself a cut in the deal. The use of Ricky Tomlinson, a very funny actor pretty much unknown to American audiences, was also a nice touch. I'm very much a believer that British comedy is (almost) always better than American. I always enjoy the inclusion of English words and slang, and with Elmo not having a clue about English customs, such as the different language and the Mini Cooper, makes this film very funny. I'm not sure about Americans, but English people will appreciate the hilarity of the situation as Elmo and Felix run around Liverpool, with Elmo wanting his 20 million, and Felix just wanting to watch the Liverpool vs. Man Utd game! A clever twist at the end adds a bit of a philosophical side to the film, and shows The 51st State is more than just a few laughs.
19 out of 33 people found the following review useful: Comparison's are what kill this film, 29 July 2005 Author: devilnside from Australia
Formula 51, to me, wanted to badly to mimic the cool characteristics of films like Snatch and in doing so left behind elements which were necessary to get there. The script found the film with it's first fault when it was clear that during the writing process things like a flowing, rich and intelligent script were replaced by excessive overly 'Cool' dialogue, the f word and a narrative which shamelessly places the characters in situations with the sole purpose of them showing how witty (in a dialogue sense) they can be. And yes, I will admit, at times it works and you do enjoy some of this but it is overall tedious and relies far to heavy on this to make this film.On the acting front I noticed pretty quickly how the actors saw their characters were written and just played with it (with the exception of Sam L Jackson who seemed to kick into auto pilot and let his cool persona shine through on his part). I think in the context this was a good choice by the actors, this movie was not a masterpiece and they treated it appropriately. But still, the characters lacked charisma and charm. Even the always likable Samual L Jackson failed to really strike a chord with me.I guess I semi enjoyed the film but still felt as though it was trying to be something more and failed. I keep thinking it wanted to be Snatch, but to be, it needed the characters, the pace, the dialogue (subtlety needed) and the overall richness that Snatch possessed. Try to not make comparisons upon viewing, and take it as no more than a piece of entertainment. 5/10
19 out of 33 people found the following review useful: Brilliant film. Funny, loud and outragous, 2 February 2002 Author: rubicon10000 from england
The thing I like most about the 51st State is that it seems calculated to annoy pretentious idiots with their heads stuck up their own bottoms. It doesn't take itself seriously at all, and is therefore a very good psychological device that can employed to weed out those people that do. I LOVE the fact that it's an American style movie but that it takes place on English shores. Who on earth wrote the rule that if it's British it needs to look crap, have bad acting, have laughable dialogue (Guy Ritchie) and generally be embarrassing to watch? We live in a global age, and The 51st State is very much a global movie appealing to people in whatever country they happen to be. Hence British writer. American Star. Hong Kong Director.AND IT'S A DAMN GOOD LAUGH. SEE IT!!!!
16 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Fun if you are in the mood and know what to expect - Jackson is key in making it stand out from the many other modern British gangster films, 2 May 2004 Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK
Elmo McElroy is an American chemistry who has developed a new drug that is 51 times stronger, more effective and better than everything else on the market. He kills the major drug dealers in LA and heads to England to get a better deal. He arrives in England and is collected by Felix DeSouza and escorted to meet criminal Leopold Durant. However Elmo's hit on The Lizard failed and he remains keen to get hold of the drug - however the formula only exists in Elmo's head. The Lizard charges hit-woman Dakota (coincidently Felix's ex) to keep Elmo alive until The Lizard can get to him and get the formula. Meanwhile Elmo and Felix combine to try and sell the drugs.Yet another in the treadmill of British bandwagon filmmaking, this film is, surprise surprise, a comedy British gangster movie with, wait for it, larger than life characters, funny violence and hyper-kinetic directing and editing. How very Lock Stock - things look pretty bleak from this description, except that the cast at least offers the hope that sufficient money has been poured into it to make it more than just another cheap cash-in on the success of Guy Ritchie's films. From the start it is obvious that this film is going to be more about energy than anything else and, to prove this, it then quickly edits it's way into a plot that relies more on forward motion and coincidence than anything else. The story is nonsense throughout and at times I found it a little irritating that so little attention was paid to the plot - but in fairness, to make a big deal out of that is to miss the point.This is because the film is all about style, humour and pace and not about character or plotting. In this regard it is an enjoyable ride, albeit a silly and energetic one. The hyper directing from Yu really suits this and he does well even if he is not really very original in regards his shots etc. The editing fits with the formula set by Ritchie and is pretty much what you expect. What makes the film stand out from the rest of the copies is that it actually is quite good fun to watch (as opposed to some copies that are just cheap and nasty) - never hilarious but it is energetic enough to pull you along with it no matter how silly it gets. Of course it has weak points - a few characters are too daft and, whenever the overall plot is the main focus then it struggles.Despite this the cast do well to keep things moving and they play a massive part in making this work. Jackson may not be doing anything new or wonderful here but he is key to the film working and he is worth every penny they must have paid him. He has great presence and he brings a lot of fun and energy to the film in a way that his lesser co-stars cannot. Carlyle is a good actor but he pales in comparison to Jackson in this - he isn't helped by the awful accent he is lumbered with and the fact that he is a little irritating. Mortimer is annoying as her character is just daft in the context of the plot, but not as annoying as Meatloaf who is easily the worst thing in the film. The support cast includes reasonable turns from Pertwee, Ifans, Tomlinson and Barber but this is Jackson's film 100% and it is difficult to imagine it being as enjoyable without him.Overall, we all know what to expect - this is yet another gangster film in the mould of Lock Stock. In that regard it isn't original and it is, frankly, a mess in regards character and plotting. However it moves fast, is slick, clearly had a bit of cash thrown at it and, apart from a handful of stupidly silly moments, is actually quite fun to watch - even if it is almost instantly forgettable. The cast includes quite a few well-known faces but it is the awesome presence of Jackson (who looks like he is enjoying himself in an undemanding role) that makes this worth seeing.
11 out of 19 people found the following review useful: Awful awful awful awful awful awful, 10 October 2002 Author: dildq from Stockholm
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This is probably the most idiotic film I have ever seen. EVER. And I promise you, I have seen some stupid films in my time. If you can believe anyone would pay 20 million dollars just for the formula of a drug noone has even tried, I truly envy your lack of grasp on reality. And there is more...***Spoilers ahead***A drug FIFTYONE times more hallucinogenic than acid, caused by the power of suggestion... Oh yeah, this is the incredibly lame premise of the movie. The drug in question in the film, POS-51, is a placebo, it has no real effect, yet people imagine the drug to work cause the massively overrated actor Samuel L. Jackson tells them to. You think you wouldn't notice if you took something 51 times stronger than coke and E and LSD combined? A couple of hundred of clubbers pop the drug, and miraculously are convinced by the magic power of suggestion.Truly, if you have an IQ higher than that of a houseplant, AVOID THIS MOVIE, I promise you will be disappointed.I can't believe this film got relatively good ratings here. It makes me depressed that anyone could accept the concept of this movie. I think I have to drink some imaginary beers now, 51 times more intoxicating than vodka.Peace
12 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Best Quentin Ritchie Spin-off ever, 28 July 2003 Author: Todd from California
It's easy for any of us to resemble the 'comic book guy' from the Simpson's and rant for days about this belated release mimicking the action/comedies of the last decade. Don't. This is not 'Get Shorty' nor 'Who is Cletis Tout?'.Plot: A unfortunate jinx leads a chemist to an underground drug world. With clever calculations at foot and in mind, he devises an intricate plan for early retirement. Then Liverpool happens. Granted, the first time I watched it seemed like a product from a 'Quentin Tarantino' screen writing class. Upon watching a few more times it becomes clearer that there is no other fault. Had this movie arrived before such 'Res Dogs' type movies it may have been the golden boy of this new genre (not-likely). But it still stands as a light-weight contender. The situations are cleverly drawn, the acting is very comical and the casting is on the money. The fast drawn shots keep the pace, the thunderous soundtrack imports the ambiance, and the British ghetto lingo always reels you in to the lovely slums of Liverpool.Bottom Line: Better Title 'An American Drug Dealer in Liverpool'
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