Colin (Paul Freeman) delivered a suitcase of money, but not before pocketing some of it. Soon after, his driver and date are killed and left on the side of the road. Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) returned to London from the United States. Harold is a gangster with a beautiful girlfriend (Helen Mirren), an extensive network of goons & thugs, a police chief on the dole, and even a councilman in his pocket. His trip to America was to arrange a joint venture with the mafia. Everything was going his way. Then his Roll Royce exploded, killing the driver. Colin turned up stabbed to death at a swimming pool. Who was making a move against him? His deal with the mafia was being threatened. Strong measures were needed. However, every effort came to naught. No one knew from where the threat originated. When the full story is finally revealed, many of the mysterious events become clear. Even so, Harold thinks he can handle this threat the way he has handled other gangsters. He cannot. Of course, virtually everyone in the film is a criminal, a corrupt official, or a hapless victim. Many of them get their just deserts.
Bob Hoskins is terrific as the gangster, a great performance. Sure, he's clearly a bad guy but you can't help but root for him to come through this trial. The rest of the cast is quite good, but this is Hoskin's movie and he carries it perfectly. Paul Freeman had surprisingly high billing for someone with almost no lines who dies early in the film. He followed this movie by playing the chief villain, Belloq, in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pierce Brosnan makes his movie debut as an IRA assassin, his only line being 'Hi' before stabbing Colin to death. His IRA partner, Daragh O'Malley, would go on to play Sgt. Harper in the Sharpe series.
Terrific film that grows to a crescendo of an ending. Highly recommended.
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