Review of The Veteran (2011) by Tom B — 12 May 2014

Woah! Brill ending rewards patience in this great Brit drama.

Toby Kebbel is excellent as the veteran, returning to his London vcouncil estate following retiring from army duty. The decorated soldier struggles to find work and so gets involved in an anti terrorist undercover role, tailing an informant (the team being led by Brian Cox). Whilst this is going on he tries to help his friend against the neighbourhood hoodie gang, who are brainwashing his brother into the local gang culture.

Dark, gritty, slow to build up but gripping and exciting (and threatening) this Brit flick is a great watch. Miller (Kebbel) then realises all is not what it first seemed and has to find a way out and rectify a situation he is struggling to deal with. The thing that made it for me was the arguably non sell out ending, remaining in keeping with the film and rewarding the viewers patience with the story and slower first half. It is far from perfect, but with a forgiving film fan head, this film may surprise a few and entertain, and that is the point.

Definitely a top 20 film of 2011 and it's non blockbuster status will make it an even better watch for admirers of this sort of film and content, a modern underdog fighting back styled film.

This film is similar to Harry Brown, Taxi Driver and Outlaw.