May I Kill U?

"Good"

May I Kill U? Review


A pitch-black sense of humour provides some strong laughs in this satirical British thriller, but the undercooked script never manages to hold onto our interest. Packed with coincidences and contrivances, the story is just too sloppy, even if there's a provocative point worth making in here somewhere.

At the centre is bicycle cop Baz (Bishop), who patrols southeast London as opportunistic crime is on the rise. At one hot-spot, he corners a looter and, in exasperation, asks for permission to kill him. The guy says yes, and Baz posts a video of the event on the web, disguising himself as an anonymous vigilante hero who's cleaning up the streets. Then things start to get strange. After he rescues a group of trafficked women, one of them (Koleczek) comes home with him, which annoys his bitter mother (Barber). He also befriends an elderly woman (Leach), who leaves him her house when she dies. And her nephew Seth (Doolan) isn't happy about this.

The story is framed by scenes of Seth interrogating Baz in a basement, so we see his vigilante spree in episodic flashback, including his awkward relationship with his partner (Axe), who barely suspects a thing. At least this adds some structure to the randomness of the overall narrative, which pings all over the place without filling in plausible details. But this also makes it impossible for Bishop to build any chemistry with his costars, even though all four main actresses are feisty and engaging. So the film as a whole begins to drag badly, never bringing any sense of focus to the loosely offhanded filmmaking style.

Along the way there are clever moments of telling satire, but the movie isn't much more than an absurd wish-fulfilment fantasy for anyone annoyed by the realities of urban life. Although here London's violence is exaggerated to the point of parody. If it's difficult to care what happens to unlikeable characters like this, at least the plot is unpredictable and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. But in creating a jaunty, silly tone, writer-director Urban undermines Baz's moral conflict. So even though Bishop's performance is cleverly endearing, there's nothing at stake for him. 

Rich Cline



May I Kill U?

Facts and Figures

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 87 mins

In Theaters: Friday 11th January 2013

Distributed by: Cyclops Vision

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 15%
Fresh: 2 Rotten: 11

IMDB: 5.3 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director:

Producer: Alan Jay,

Starring: as Baz, as Seth, as Bernice, Kasia Koleczek as Maya, Hayley-Marie Axe as Val, as Mags

Also starring:

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews