So-called action thriller Jack Said is the prequel to the 2008 film Jack Says and details the events leading up to the beginning of Jack Says.
Staring Danny Dyer as Nathan and Simon Phillips as Jack, the film opens with a beaten up Jack talking to a woman tired to a chair; Jack is explaining the events that are to occur during the film.
When Nathan, a member of a criminal gang steals from the gangster family he works for, he is forced to go on the run. He asks fellow gang member Jack to look after his sister and Jack also inherits Nathan’s role in the gang. What no one is aware of is that Jack is an undercover cop. As the film continues, Jack gets buried further into his as role as a gangster and the lines between honest cop and villain become blurred. He falls in love with Nathan’s sister, adding some romance to the story line, beats individuals as he collects payments and even chops off one guy’s fingers.
As far as the actors and their portrayal of the characters go, Dyer is as usual full of attitude. As a double-dealing crime gangster he is quite believable. Philips as Jack is also credible as an undercover cop with a taste for the crime life.
There is comic book/graphic novel style to the film, something similar but not as detailed as Sin City. At first, the film opens in black and white. As it continues there are many moments where Jack talks over the top of the images on screen. Like the small explanations you get at the top of a comic book before the speech bubbles. As the film looks into the crime side of London’s gangland culture, there are some moments with digits being copped off and people getting pulverised, as well as the odd explosion and gunfire but noting as exciting, pulsating and as shocking as you may expect. To be called a thriller or an action movie it would actually require something to keep you on the edge of your seat or grab your attention and make you want to watch to the end without losing interest. Unfortunately there is very little of this sort of material making Jack Said much less satisfying, as you would expect.
Michelle Moore