The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

Hummingbird

Hummingbird | Movie review
22 June 2013
Ben Corrigan
Avatar
Ben Corrigan
22 June 2013

Steven Knight’s Hummingbird, starring Jason Statham, tells the story of Joey Jones, a homeless ex-marine and member of London’s criminal underworld who seeks revenge against those responsible for his girlfriend’s death. At its core, the film attempts to be about redemption and what it means to be ”good”. Unfortunately, though valiant, well-shot and at times thought provoking, the film isn’t about much at all.

Despite its noble efforts to introduce heart into the typically hollow British gangster genre, the film incorporates far too many heavy themes and therefore fails to deal with most of them effectively. Half-heartedly exploring homelessness, violence, crime, sex, religion, alcoholism, income inequality, absentee parenting, human trafficking and the quest for identity, Hummingbird has bitten off more than it can chew.

The film is littered with unfortunate clichés that cheapen what could have been an engaging storyline. The use of war flashbacks to explain Statham’s tortured mind and alcoholism is uninspired, as is the two-minute Rocky-esque montage depicting him ”getting his life back together”. It is predictable and bland, which is a real shame. In addition, there are some truly terrible and cringe-worthy cameos that, again, belittle the narrative. Overall, the frequent and insultingly shallow dialogue makes it difficult for the main characters to emerge as anything more than two-dimensional, and it is consequently tough to feel much empathy for them.

As is to be expected of Statham, there are some great one liners, most notably when he threatens to kill a homeless man ”with a spoon,” but the action is  surprisingly infrequent and mostly without suspense; there is no sense of danger at all.

However, it is very well shot. Knight’s parallel between the beautiful London skyline and the gritty underbelly beneath it is powerful and stimulating in its portrayal of these two very different worlds. Statham (as always) oozes cool with his sharp eyes, sharp suit and sharp cockney accent.

Overall, the film is simply too ambitious and therefore fails to be truly engaging. It isn’t dramatic enough to be a drama, it isn’t thrilling enough to be a thriller and there isn’t enough action to be an action film. As a viewer, you leave with a sense of dissatisfaction at having experienced so little. It is certainly original as far as British gangster flicks go, but isn’t gritty or entertaining.

Ben Corrigan

Hummingbird is released nationwide on 28th June 2013.

Watch the trailer for Hummingbird here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Movie reviews

Emergency

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

The Road Dance

★★★★★
Matthew McMillan
Read More

Rhino

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

The Innocents

★★★★★
Emma Kiely
Read More

Benediction

★★★★★
Lauren Devine
Read More

This Much I Know to Be True

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin)

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Vortex

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More

Everything Everywhere All at Once

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Albert Adrià reopens Enigma on 7 June as a “fun-dining” restaurant and cocktail bar
    Food & Drinks
  • Paolo Nutini at the 100 Club
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Crimes of the Future: Three new clips from David Cronenberg’s dystopian body horror film
    Cannes
  • The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Plan 75
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • November (Novembre)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Forever Young (Les Amandiers)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • “Ruben is wonderful at picking holes in our behaviour and our egos”: Woody Harrelson, Ruben Östlundand and cast at the Triangle of Sadness press conference
    Cannes Film Festival 2022
  • Summer Scars (Nos Cérémonies)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Emergency
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Men
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Triangle of Sadness
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Aftersun
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

True Love Stories at Pertwee, Anderson & Gold ǀ Exhibition review
Original recipe of the week: Naughty but nice blueberry and pistachio smoothie