Spivs *** (2004, Ken Stott, Nick Moran, Dominic Monaghan, Kate Ashfield, Linda Bassett, Jack Dee, Tamer Hassan, Paul Kaye, Roshan Seth) – Classic Movie Review 4591

Ken Stott stars with Nick Moran, Dominic Monaghan and Kate Ashfield in co-writer/ director Colin Teague’s heated-to-boiling-point 2004 Brit crime thriller as con artists making small-time stings. But Stott’s partners get too greedy and he is saddled with two teenage Eastern European asylum seekers whom he has to save from the clutches of the bad guys.

Stott, Moran and Monaghan play the titular London East End spivs Jack, Steve and Goat. Also in the cast are Linda Bassett, Jack Dee, Tamer Hassan, Paul Kaye, and Roshan Seth.

Performing a brilliant Michael Caine impersonation for the entire movie, Stott carries off his rare good-guy role with great style. It may be yet another low-budget Brit gangster movie in an over-crowded market, but this one is one of the small number of goodies, just managing to be unusual and tense enough to stand out.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4591

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com