''Blitz'' is a 2011 British

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Elliott Lester and starring

Jason Statham Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent. Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...

Paddy Considine Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard Britis ...

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, a ...

and

David Morrissey David Mark Joseph Morrissey (born 21 June 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. Described by the British Film Institute as "one of the most versatile English actors of his generation", he is noted for the meticulous preparation and research h ...

. The film is based on the novel of the same name by

Ken Bruen Ken Bruen (born 1951) is an Irish writer of hard-boiled and noir crime fiction. Biography Education and teaching career Born in Galway, he was educated at Gormanston College, County Meath and later at Trinity College Dublin, where he earned a ...

, which features his recurring characters Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James Roberts. The narrative follows a violent police officer trying to catch a serial killer who has been murdering police officers in South East London. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2011.

Plot

A serial killer is targeting police officers in South East London. After two police constables are shot dead and Chief Inspector Bruce Roberts (

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...

) is bludgeoned to death, the hunt for the killer's identity begins. Sergeant Porter Nash (

) is transferred to the South East London branch of the police to head the investigation, even though Nash is an outsider and widely ridiculed by his fellow officers for being openly gay. To his surprise he finds an unlikely ally in the hot-headed, gruff Detective Sergeant Tom Brant (

), who has a history of violent incidents. While the investigation is ongoing, PC Elizabeth Falls (

Zawe Ashton Zawedde Emma "Zawe" Ashton (; born 25 July 1984) is a British actress, playwright and narrator. She is best known for her roles in the comedy dramas '' Fresh Meat'' and ''Not Safe for Work'', the Netflix horror thriller film ''Velvet Buzzsaw'' ...

) is visited by a friend, a young gang member nicknamed Metal, who is afraid his gang might have actually killed someone. Promising him to look into the situation, Falls contacts Detective Inspector Craig Stokes (

Luke Evans Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979) is a Welsh actor and singer. He began his career on the stage, performing in many of London's West End productions such as ''Rent'', ''Miss Saigon'', and '' Piaf'' before making his film breakthrough in ...

), who agrees to help if Falls goes on a date with him. One of Brant's informants, Radnor (

Ned Dennehy Ned Dennehy (born 8 December 1965) is an Irish actor who has appeared in multiple films and television programmes. He is best known for his role as Mider in ''The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog''. He also appeared in ''Blitz'', ''Harry Potter and t ...

), points Brant and Nash towards a man named Barry Weiss (

) who recently bragged about setting a police dog on fire, "for practice". Although Brant and Nash visit Weiss' flat, they cannot immediately find any evidence against him. Brant recognises Weiss as the man he beat up in a fight in a billiard hall a year earlier. Unknown to either of them, Radnor decides to conduct an investigation of his own and eventually discovers the seemingly abandoned car where Weiss keeps the trophies of his kills, confirming that Weiss is the killer. Meanwhile, Weiss contacts a newspaper reporter, Harold Dunlop (

), to make sure his murders get enough coverage in the press. Weiss promises to keep Dunlop updated about his murders and declares he wishes to be known as Blitz. Soon after, Dunlop is also contacted by Radnor who is interested in selling his information for a high price. Although Radnor leads Dunlop to Weiss' car, he is killed by Weiss before he can disclose Weiss' name. Dunlop then alerts the police to the car, but they find it empty. Brant and a fellow police constable come to realize that all of Blitz's victims so far have been police officers who have arrested Weiss in the past and that PC Falls is most likely the next victim. Falls, after coming home from her date with Stokes, is attacked by Weiss but saved by Metal, who is killed in the ensuing struggle. Before Weiss can attack Falls again, the police arrive. Brant and Nash decide to release a picture of Weiss to the media to flush him out, which eventually, after a lengthy chase, leads to Weiss' capture. There is no concrete evidence against Weiss however, so after 48 hours and an interrogation which does not yield results, the police are forced to let Weiss go. Exasperated, Brant and Nash devise a plot to trick Weiss, knowing that Weiss will want to take revenge on Brant for the billiard hall fight. Weiss infiltrates the funeral of Chief Inspector Roberts, dressed in Roberts' uniform which he had stolen after murdering him. During the service, Brant leaves, followed by Weiss. Brant leads Weiss to the top of a parking garage, only to reveal that Brant and Nash had switched places along the route. Surprised by a hidden Brant, Weiss is mercilessly beaten, overpowered and relieved of his gun. Explaining that they will never find enough evidence to convict Weiss legally, Brant concludes that they are now in a convenient situation: since Weiss is dressed as a police officer, and Brant has Blitz's gun, they can shoot him with his own gun, and it will look as if Weiss was just another of Blitz's victims. After Weiss is killed, Brant sets the dogs free on Dunlop to chase him for writing articles against him and the police for coverage.

Cast

as DS Tom Brant *

as Porter Nash, an acting inspector and Tom's partner. *

as Barry "Blitz" Weiss, a deranged serial cop killer. *

as Harold Dunlop *

as WPC Elizabeth Falls *

as DI Craig Stokes *

as CI Bruce Roberts *

Nicky Henson Nicky Henson ( Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson; 12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor. Early life Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha ( Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson. Adam Henson, a fa ...

as Superintendent Brown *

as Radnor *

Ron Donachie Ronald Eaglesham Porter (born 26 April 1956), known professionally as Ron Donachie, is a Scottish actor. He is known for starring as DI John Rebus in the BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of the Ian Rankin "Rebus" detective novels and for his supporti ...

as Cross

Production

The film's script was written by Nathan Parker. The film was shot in London in August 2010. Blitz was the first film produced by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

UK.

Reception

''Blitz'' received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 48% based on reviews from 25 critics. David Hughes of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 and wrote: "A rough-cut crime thriller that sees Jason Statham back on familiar turf and doing what he does best." Cath Clarke of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the film a positive review and wrote: "Who knows, we might be looking at the evolution of the guilty-pleasure movie - padded out with top-drawer talent to spare audience blushes."

Box office

Blitz grossed a worldwide total of $15,774,948. The film earned a further $3,065,744 from Domestic DVD & Blu-ray sales.

References

External links

* *
''Blitz''
at The Numbers
''Blitz''
at the Official Website *
Blitz
' at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blitz 2011 films 2011 action thriller films 2011 crime action films 2011 crime thriller films 2010s chase films 2010s police films 2010s serial killer films British action thriller films British chase films British crime thriller films British police films British serial killer films Films about criminals Films about murder Films based on crime novels Films based on Irish novels Films directed by Elliott Lester Films produced by Donald Kushner Films scored by Ilan Eshkeri Films set in London Films shot in London Lionsgate films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films