Set in 1980, tells us the story of Danny (Jason Statham), a former Special Air Service assassin who is forced out of retirement in order to prevent the death of his former SAS assassin mentor (Robert De Niro). A Sikh man who has lost three of his sons to yet more SAS assassins, blackmails Statham into killing them as an act of vengeance. If that wasn’t enough, he also has to fight off a fittingly 80s mustachioed Clive Owen who is, that’s right, a former SAS assassin, nostalgic about old times and who can’t seem to resist the need to investigate Statham’s assassinating antics. Owen is also backed by a suitably stereotypically British secret society known as the Feathermen; the title of the non-fiction book the film is based on.

The action and fighting itself, however, are possibly redeeming factors for the film. The sharp editing and camerawork gives intensity to the hand-to-hand combat scenes, which are well timed and precisely choreographed. There is a fair amount of inventiveness in these scenes, culminating in Statham performing an unfathomable front flip onto Owen whilst tied to a chair. Arguably this feat sets the tone for the film as a whole. As with most action films in this vein, most of the effort is put into these scenes as opposed to the dialogue; a clear feature in this film. Average dialogue seems to hinder Owen yet enhance Statham’s always-menacing steeliness. Though not fantastic, Statham’s acting has a certain thuggish charm which is often entertaining to watch.

Ultimately this is a Stath-fest of shouting, shooting and shanking that packs in enough hard man one liners and acrobatic feats of violence to just about satisfy the audience until the end.