Review of Burke & Hare (2010) by Robin P — 30 Oct 2010

Really quite disappointed in this. The idea of a black comedy about Burke and Hare had quite a bit of appeal, and the pairing of Pegg and Serkis had real promise. Sad then that the final film is such a mess. It has a few moments that are genuinely funny but overall the humour is weak and unsuccessful. Pegg and Serkis fare quite well as a lovestruck loser and opportunistic wideboy respectively but they just don't convince as villains. There's no darkness in them. Jessica Hynes does better as the amoral Mrs Hare and Ronnie Corbett is good value as Captain McClintock. Isla Fisher is completey wasted though (and her accent is sadly very ropey - especially for a girl with Scots parents).

This isn't a terrible film, it's just not that good either. It plays fast and loose with historical fact (although an onscreen caption does forewarn this) and is uneven in tone and pacing. The story of William Burke and William Hare is perfect for making into a great film. This sadly isn't that film.