The Intent II : The Come Up

Stars: Justin "Ghetts" Clark-Samuels, Selva Rasalingam, Karen Bryson, Femi Oyeniran, Adam Deacon, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Ashley Chin, Nicky 'Slimting' Walker, Maria Critell, Dylan Duffus, Popcaan

Director: Nicky 'Slimting' Walker, Femi Oyeniran

Reportedly 2016's The Intent 'burst onto the scene selling out all cinemas on its independent release'.

So say the press notes for this seemingly inevitable sequel or - to be more accurate - prequel which follows the fate of London crook Clark-Samuels, who has big dreams for the future but also owes allegiance to his woman Hackney crime boss Duncan-Brewster.

With the help of Deacon's Mustafa, it at first seems Clark-Samuels will succeed, but the combination of an ill-fated robbery, clashes with Turkish gangsters and a crime spree in Jamaica lead to the wrecking of his crew while an undercover Metropolitan police officer adds to his ongoing woes.

Writers/directors/producers Femi Oyeniran and Nicky 'Slimting' Walker spare no foul-mouthed dialogue laden with a large enough spate of Channel-4 letter words to possibly add up to a UK cinema record in delivering a bloody thriller stuffed with recurrent grisly violence and a deeply depressing picture of a crime-infested London.

Performances are what you would expect from a thriller that relies as much on blood-spattered viciousness ('If you're not a pussy - shoot him!') as entirely credible storytelling and/or particularly likeable characters, along with gritty and depressing jail sequences and ferocious villains of both sexes.

The Jamaican-set sequence makes good use of location to advance the story and the London skyline is interestingly photographed to resemble the cliched skylines of many worldwide cities, while the climactic shootout in a London cinema during a screening is cleverly staged.

As date movies go, you may well recall the date you saw it rather than remember the would-be 'romantic' occasion.

Alan Frank

UK 2018. UK Distributor: Vertigo. Colour.
122 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 2, Violence/Horror 3, Drugs 3, Swearing 3.

Review date: 21 Sep 2018