The Peaky Blinders movie has been out and about, and here's what I think of the movie (after being a fan of the OG series). It's not good.
The Peaky Blinders movie has been out and about, and here's what I think of the movie (after being a fan of the OG series). It's not good.
After rambling on about how it is a bad idea to end a beautiful series with a movie, I finally got the time to watch it. Unfortunately, I stand corrected. With much hope and anticipation, I trodded along to Netflix and requested a viewing of The Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
From the introduction of the plot to the execution of the finer things, here's what went down and my personal thoughts about it (which many might agree with). So, without any further await, we start where Tommy Shelby stopped after Season 6.
Of course, a spoiler warning is in effect. Go watch the movie now, at least for Tommy Shelby.
When the screen turned from black to color, I was livid. The plot was set in 1940, when the British Empire was the last standing regime in Europe against the Nazis. A plan was established to smuggle counterfeit currency into England to crash the economy, effectively making them lose World War II against the Nazis. And who better to smuggle £70 million counterfeit currency... than Thomas Shelby's son?
The plot remained highly intriguing. When the bombs dropped on the BSA Arms Factory in Birmingham, it carried a hint of nostalgia, which made my Peaky Blinders soul happy. It was the perfect reintroduction to the world of Peaky Blinders. However, that is the exact moment when things started going downhill.
The introduction of Tommy Shelby is exactly how you expected it: Cold, dark, and devoid of color. Although graying hair and a slower approach to life had left him quite vulnerable to his feelings and emotions, it was still the Tommy Shelby glow-up that fans (and I) had been waiting for.
Wanting to find peace for a total of six seasons, old age hath indeed taken its toll on the slowed mind of Shelby when he came across Blackbird (or Kaulo Chiriklo). Aside from Tommy Shelby, we were also introduced to Barry Keoghan's Duke Shelby (which was also an iconic introduction scene).
Ada Shelby was also a throwback character that connected the movie to the series, and her warnings were once again left unheeded by Tommy Shelby, which started the whole premise of the movie, really.
Knowing and loving Sophie Rundle as Ada Shelby for six seasons, it was a disappointment to see Ada Shelby's death in such an... idiotic way. Although Duke Shelby had been ordered to kill Ada Shelby for fear of reporting to the authorities, Ada died at the hands of the Nazi villain since Duke couldn't pull the trigger.
Her death served as a catalyst for Tommy Shelby to return to the fold and take the reins of the Peaky Blinders once again. However, my only problem with the death of Ada Shelby was that it was plainly idiotic.
Being a woman of power, Ada Shelby would have seen the assassination coming from miles away. Dealing with politics, powerful people, and government through six seasons, Ada Shelby wouldn't have been so naive as to let a simple assassin walk up to her and shoot her in the face.
Call it lazy writing or just a catalyst for character progression; however, Ada Shelby deserved a far better death than just for shock value. Speaking of lazy deaths...
Don't get me wrong. I do get the fact that since Paul Anderson's (the actor who portrayed the role of Arthur Shelby) conviction got him out of the movie, however, his death could have been a lot better. I don't know whether Steven Knight wanted to draw a parallel to The Godfather, where Michael Corleone orders the killing of Fredo Corleone, but the death of Arthur Shelby... is simply incomplete.
Throughout six seasons, we saw that Arthur was the brawn while Tommy was the brain. Through thick and thin, both brothers stood side-by-side, ready to face any and every problem that came their way. Tommy Shelby went on a warpath when Arthur was hurt during season six of Peaky Blinders.
Therefore, it simply makes no sense for Tommy Shelby to shoot Arthur Shelby due to "rage and alcohol", something that Thomas Shelby has had control over for the past SIX SEASONS! It would have made sense for Arthur Shelby to get himself killed in a shootout or otherwise. However, Tommy Shelby killing his own brother... is something that I personally refuse to believe.
Until the second act, the pacing was perfect. It felt like a genuine continuation of the series, and I was quite pleased with the bigger execution and the impressive budget that they had for the movie. However, just when things were about to amp up slowly (like how they used to do in the series), the movie had a runtime of only 35 minutes remaining.
The third act was rushed. A lot. In fact, Tommy Shelby running with a landmine in his hand was not only insulting to the character, but an atrocity to see. The man who had commanded the Peaky Blinders for six seasons shouldn't be out there running with a landmine in his hand, despite his son being at risk.
Tommy Shelby was never the man to pull the trigger directly. The rushed ending, the big explosions, and Tommy Shelby doing all the labour work himself, felt like the character had somehow gone back to his roots as a "Clay kicker". It felt as if Thomas Shelby were a young soldier in Flanders again, running with everything he had left.
This wasn't the Tommy Shelby that Steven Knight had developed over the course of the series. It simply wasn't. I'd have much rather preferred it if Tommy Shelby had used his wits to find a way rather than use his brawn and carry a landmine in order to get killed (partly thanks to the absence of Arthur Shelby).
The movie almost felt flat, as if they simply wanted to be done with the world of Peaky Blinders. There wasn't too much depth to the plot that was prevalent in the earlier seasons, which also hindered my Peaky Blinders movie experience.
The death of Tommy Shelby, although rushed, was enough to make anyone cry. The music throughout the movie was impeccable and especially during Tommy's funeral, it was probably the best song used in the whole movie (it's called Hunting the Wren, by the way).
Although rushed, flat, and too simple, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man managed to uphold Tommy Shelby's wish for peace, which he finally received in the end. All the technical knick-knacks and storylines seemed to disappear the moment I saw Tommy Shelby lying in a Gypsy wagon, surrounded by counterfeit currency and the photos of the Shelbys.
My review? A terrible movie with a great ending, purely due to Cillian Murphy's brilliant portrayal of Tommy Shelby throughout the years.
Final Score: 6/10.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is available to stream on Netflix (USA).
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