Similar in theme but quite different in tone to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, Harry Brown sees Michael Caine, another heavyweight actor with decades of films under his belt, embroiled in the rough world of urban gang culture. Caine too plays a war veteran, who finally loses his patience with the local criminals after his friend is murdered. Stylistically, Harry Brown sits somewhere between gritty social realism and bloody revenge thriller (leaning towards the latter), with the authentic feeling North London setting a perfect stage for the increasingly brutal violence meted out. Michael Caine delivers a solid performance, but equal credit should go to his younger co-stars, all of whom inhabit their characters perfectly. Sean Harris - a great actor woefully underused - stands out in a smaller part as psychotic drug dealer Stretch. Harry Brown might not win any awards for originality, but as vigilante thrillers go it's one of the best, with Michael Caine reminding us that he's still capable of playing a strong central role.
