Dead Man Running 2009

5.8 / 10   61 vote(s)
R
Action Crime Drama Thriller

A loan shark gives ex-con Nick a period of 24 hours in order to pay back the money he owes. Up against it, Nick involves his best mate on a multi-part mission in order to raise the cash before it's too late for them both

Release Date 2009-01-29
Runtime 1h 32m
Directors Alex De Rakoff, Ali Asad
Producers Alastair Burlingham, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Aaron L. Ginsburg, Tamer Hassan, Alan Latham, Sam Tromans, Andrew Chapman
Writers Alex De Rakoff, John Luton

I can just imagine the scene down the boozer. Danny Dyer and his pal Tamer Hassan are a bit bored and they think - "Hey, let's make another movie. It can be a cheap and cheerful film noir type thing and we can get our mates to join in"... "Great idea - I'll ask Ash, Phil D is probably around and I don't think Brenda is filming "Vera" just now so I'll drop her a text"... Next thing, and a few grand better off from a nearby beetle drive for the budget, off they go to make this. The story? Well, Tamer fancied being "Nick" who owes a loan shark £100k. Unless his debt is paid back pronto, his poor old ma (Brenda Blethyn) will get bumped off by the elderly, prone-to-napping, enforcer that is Phil Daniels. How, though? Well, he partners with best pal "Bing" (Dyer) and go a-fund raising. Can they find the cash and save his wheelchair bound mother? What do you think? Thing about this, though, is that it's not terrible. The acting is one-dimensional and the dialogue is straight out of the "Janet and John book of daft crime thrillers", but there is some humour and charisma to be enjoyed here and it does exactly what is says on the tin. If you set the bar pretty low and go with the flow then you will get pretty much what you expect from this predictable and decently paced ninety minutes of East London drama.

CinemaSerf