Yardie

""Yardie" has the right look, the right sound and the right moves to play with the bigger boys of its genre; like its young, scrappy but naive hero, however, there's not quite enough power behind its posturing."

"Cosy clichés such as these undercut the rawness of the material - which is a shame, because Elba's visual sense and handling of actors suggest a strong future behind the camera. At least it shows he's human."

"Ahead, its own distinctive, rewarding path; on all other sides, several hundred yards of crime-movie cliche. At most of these junctures, Elba makes the right choice."

"Although Elba stretches the narrative to its limits, this is a nicely-shot, -cast and -told period story of black Britain - when so few exist - with a geniality that cuts through some of its bleaker moments."

"Enjoyable, but so deeply conventional that it feels a little played out."

"It's a pedestrian effort that could have used a serious hit of Elba's dangerous charisma onscreen."

"Neither a luridly enjoyable piece of Scarface-style pulp or a nuanced genre subversion, Idris Elba's directorial debut is a fitfully entertaining 1980s gangster thriller."