Layer Cake
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: May 13, 2005
8.4
USER SCORE
Universal acclaim based on 258 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
223
Mixed:
19
Negative:
16
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
10
AdamC.Feb 4, 2008
too good
1 of 1 users found this helpful
10
JackT.Feb 19, 2008
The Greatest Gangster Thriller I have Ever Seen
1 of 1 users found this helpful
10
WesMJul 28, 2008
The ultimate synthesis of recent British crime classis; the seriousness, characterization and aesthetics of Sexy Beast and the loopy, multilayered plotting and style of Lock Stock... and Snatch. Very highly recommended.
1 of 1 users found this helpful
7
Justinavery7074Oct 11, 2011
Somewhat great, but a great predecessor to Matthew Vaughn's hollywood masterpieces. Once again, you get to see the pure brilliance and genius of Matthew Vaughn. I **** love that talented bastard.
0 of 3 users found this helpful03
All this user's reviews
8
alejandro970May 24, 2022
Director Matthew Vaughn went to great lengths to make this black crime comedy have a voice of its own and not come across as generic. Here it requires paying close attention to the twists and turns that are well justified. To understand howDirector Matthew Vaughn went to great lengths to make this black crime comedy have a voice of its own and not come across as generic. Here it requires paying close attention to the twists and turns that are well justified. To understand how Daniel Craig got the role of James Bond.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
5
amheretojudgeMar 31, 2018
even drug dealers don't work weekends..

Layer Cake Its fast paced gripping screenplay that enfolds in each phase as it ages on screen with witty humor and complex yet amusing characters blends in perfectly creating a brilliant gangsta rapeven drug dealers don't work weekends..

Layer Cake

Its fast paced gripping screenplay that enfolds in each phase as it ages on screen with witty humor and complex yet amusing characters blends in perfectly creating a brilliant gangsta rap environment that is although palpable but still fails to connect with the audience. J.J. Connelly's keen adaptation (and it's short runtime) helps survive this feature where even Mathew Vaughn; the director, is supporting thoroughly and is convincing too. Daniel Craig holds tightly on to its part but seems a bit distracted to carry the whole feature on its shoulder. Layer Cake fails on creating the impact of character's emotion and the drama that come along with on screen which ultimately fails to communicate with the viewers and justify them with enough reason to convince them.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
9
yoluv.Oct 16, 2005
Excellent in it's complexity.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
TaylorS.Feb 3, 2007
It would have been a lot better if they connected the dots more and effectively concluded some of the points and scenes they were trying to accent.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
SantinoSOct 11, 2005
Vaughn makes a good debut with this. Its much better than "Snatch." The plot is very complicated and theat is the best paer and hte acting is excellent specially from Craig. A sequql could be on the way.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
ZigmundZ.Apr 14, 2006
Failed to grab me in the first ten minutes, which is always a bad sign. Scorsese or Tarantino wannabe. Craig is excellent, but, my God, we've seen this before, done much better. Film has a feel of trying really hard to be outrageous and Failed to grab me in the first ten minutes, which is always a bad sign. Scorsese or Tarantino wannabe. Craig is excellent, but, my God, we've seen this before, done much better. Film has a feel of trying really hard to be outrageous and irreverantly shocking, but just comes off as being mundane and boring. Watch Trainspotting or Reservoir Dogs again, you'll be better off.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
HouseMay 22, 2006
Like a great rock song, Layer Cake hooks you early and never disappoints, rocking you until the final power chord of an ending. Daniel Craig is sensational supported by a cast that once again proves the UK has the best characer actors in the world.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
7
MarkS.Jul 12, 2006
This was pretty good. The lead actor was very good. But I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or as much as Snatch. And the very end made the movie almost pointless, it angered me.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
HenryWDec 18, 2005
It's got a good level of ambience but it feels far too smug. The plot seems to have been Snatched from Carlito's Way as well.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
9
FabienL.Nov 28, 2005
All is good in this movie: great cast, great story, great tempo, perfect tempo: from start to finish. A movie you can see again and again.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
8
AngelaB.Dec 26, 2007
Daniel Craig was great, and I wanted to see his work before James Bond. Good writing and dialogue, but I have seen much of the style before. Nonethess, it was quite interesting, and I am glad I watched it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful
6
SpangleFeb 23, 2017
A sleek, stylish, and gritty gangster crime thriller from director Matthew Vaughn, Layer Cake is a pretty damn good film. In a truly charismatic turn, Daniel Craig stars as the nameless protagonist. Looking to get out of the drug business,A sleek, stylish, and gritty gangster crime thriller from director Matthew Vaughn, Layer Cake is a pretty damn good film. In a truly charismatic turn, Daniel Craig stars as the nameless protagonist. Looking to get out of the drug business, our hero gets caught between stolen Serbian drugs and the search for a girl strung out on drugs and hanging with bad company. A pretty straight forward crime film, Layer Cake is flawed and a bit messy at times, but has terrific kinetic energy that keeps it going. Layer Cake may not convince me Matthew Vaughn is a very good director (Kingsman can die in a fire), but it is another surprisingly good entry in his filmography.

Starring Craig as XXXX, the unnamed gangster, the film's biggest fault is its plot lacks resolution. He is hired to find this girl and the film forgets about her. He begins to have sex with Sienna Miller, but gets pulled out of the room and then it jumps to him leaving a country club with her at the end. Many of the film's plot elements are just skimmed through, names get jumbled up, or events and people are simply forgotten. Vaughn tries to string these together quite loosely and it only slightly works out at times. Fortunately, its energy and action allow you to forget about the plot a bit, but it hurts because then there is very little meat on the film's bones. The characters, regardless of sex, are useless. This is one of the film's biggest problems. While its style is nice, the same cannot be said for a pretty run-of-the-mill script that feels like a rehash of Snatch or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. The fact that Vaughn was a producer on those films is hardly a surprise considering how similar the style is between this film and those Guy Ritchie films. That said, the poor characterization and lack of plot cohesiveness is hardly too detrimental, it just prevents the film from being better.

What is quite detrimental for Layer Cake is its shaky cam. I hate shaky cam. Using shaky cam through a lot of the action scenes, it was annoying and disorienting. Shaky cam is used in one of the most climactic portions of the film and it is a real buzzkill, leaving the sequence with no tension and, in its place, annoyance and a headache. That said, it is an exception as most of the film does not rely on shaky cam, thankfully. Unfortunately, it only makes that one sequence all the more jarring and horrible to watch, as the film has hardly prepared the viewer to take it all in via shaky cam.

That said, the film's plot is quite tense and thrilling at times. Even if its characters lack definition, they are quite engaging to watch and provide interest in the film. The complex and always changing plot is more than engaging and leaves the audience guessing throughout. While hardly original, there are enough moving parts that keep you distracted and focused on the intrigue and more engaging bits of the plot, namely the impending arrival of the Serbian mafia threatening XXXX's life. While diversions into his love life are unwelcome and the film can outdo itself at time, the plot - for a run-of-the-mill gangster action thriller - is hardly anything I can complain about.

All in all, Layer Cake is a fine film. It is unoffensive and palatable. Well-directed and incredibly stylish, it has its flaws, but it is a largely fun experience that simply lacks any mean or substance. For action junkies or people who like films of this kind, it will more than quench your thirst. For those who like some more meat on their films, Layer Cake may leave you quite cool and under the mistaken belief that there had to be more to this film than was shown. Fortunately, even for the latter group, the cool and charismatic Daniel Craig more than saves the film and helps to contribute to a film, while disposable, is more than entertaining and is great popcorn entertainment.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
DANIELW45Jun 7, 2015
Layer cake is a true modern British crime drama. A excellent book to film adaptation with a great story and Daniel Craig does a outstanding job of portraying this modern day gangster.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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7
IAmTechJun 19, 2016
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Along with Guy Ritchie, Matthew Vaughn is the probably the second biggest director from the UK at the moment with some huge films under his belt, he is also the British gangster film maker of our modern age along with Mr Ritchie having made 'Lock Stock' and 'Snatch' together.

Those two films pretty much flash started the British gangster/underworld flicks back into being and created a whole load of copies in film style and imagery. 'Layer Cake' is Vaughn's attempt without his partner in crime (pun intended) and you can obviously see how that collaboration has rubbed off on him.

The film is pretty much like 'Lock Stock' and 'Snatch' and could almost be the third in a trilogy really, the plot is a hotpot of subplots wrapped around one main plot which all intertwine and work off each other well. Although its very familiar by now in visuals, dialog and concept its still somehow good fun to watch hardcases, fumbling crooks and foul mouthed crime lords all batter each other trying to get money/drugs/women/guns etc...one or the other.

It really is nothing new after the last two big Ritchie films it has to be said with virtually the same cast yet again, bar Vinnie Jones, the same outcomes and the same kind of violence all topped off with outrageously harsh cockney accents. Craig fits in quite well with this world as the well spoken sensible dealer and he does a good job unlike his usual wooden pouting performances, you do want him to win the day and its nice to see someone play a role in these types of films without a whole load of attitude and mouth.

Don't expect anything new to the genre with this as its the same again from Vaughn but its neater, tighter and not as ludicrous as the previous big two Brit gangster flicks, its still a lairy little sod of flick though, bosh!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
geewahJan 20, 2021
A stylish British crime caper that is well paced, tightly scripted and most importantly thoroughly entertaining.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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