Gimly
May 31, 2017
5/10
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is surprisingly good as Clash singer Joe Strummer, but London Towndoes not have the frontman (excuse the pun,) centre-stage.
The film is somewhat endearing, but it doesn't capture the grit of a Thatcher-era UK. Instead of truly tackling the fascinating topics of the time, it comes up to the edge and merely skirts around them. The skinheads are a problem, but they are never our problem, they're a mere periphery. The unemployment rate is sky high, but the lead stumbles into two jobs by the end of the first act.
Perhaps these problems wouldn't be so stark, if the kid who is our eyes for this punk-journey, wasn't so much of an... unlikeable twat.
Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.