Review #2 TWIST (2021)

So time for review #2...

Twist (2021) is a film directed by Martin Owen and is an adaptation of the classic Oliver Twist story. Oliver is a young adult, living on the streets of modern day London using his parkour talents to escape police and spray paint the city, before being taken in by Fagin (Michael Caine) and his family of orphaned misfits. This family of hustlers soon begin planning the biggest heist of their lives but encounter a few hurdles along the way.

CAST & THE ACTING 

The cast doesn’t include many big blockbuster names, however it does include a lot of recognisable faces. Twist is played by Rafferty Law (son of Jude Law) and he is supported by the likes of Michael Caine, Rita Ora, Lena Heady, Sophie Simnett and Franz Drameh in the main cast. However familiar faces such as Noel Clarke, David Walliams and Jason Maza also appear throughout, with Noel and Jason also helping to produce the film.

The cast isn’t to bad for a Sky original film and did hold a lot of promise, however I feel that it was just missing that little something. The acting seemed a little off and although the comedy did come through in some scenes the characters themselves just didn’t come across as believable to me. This is why I have given a pretty low score in this category. It had its moments, where the acting showed potential but in the end it failed to really capture my attention and pull me into the storyline of the film. Even the usually reliable Michael Caine, for me, failed to really bring his character to life, which pretty much sums it up.

STORYTELLING / PLOT. 

I do believe that the plot was actually showing a lot of potential and I really liked their take on the Oliver Twist story. I would say that maybe the storyline was a little rushed and could have been filled out a little more in order to show the true bond of this close knit group. It seemed to jump pretty quickly from Oliver joining the family to then suddenly planning a big heist, I would have appreciated a little more build up beforehand.  The score is still a respectable one and if you want a film that doesn’t take its self to seriously then it can be an entertaining watch! 

CINEMATOGRAPHY / SPECIAL EFFECTS 

Twist was actually pretty good in terms of cinematography, capturing the parkour scenes pretty well and the links between some of the scenes were creative and was done very well. However what really brings this score down for me is the gun shots, now stick with me on this. I believe if your going to include someone getting shot in a film then you have to make it realistic otherwise it can ruin it completely. Unfortunately these gun shot wounds didn’t look good at all and the impact those scenes had, were effected as a result. This film also didn’t require a lot of special effects so you would think that the small amount they did use, should be good...

OVERALL (4/10)

Although this film did show a lot of potential and the foundations were there for a good film, I feel it just missed the mark. Don’t get me wrong it was an entertaining watch and if you have time, give it a go but I couldn’t justify a higher score. It’s certainly not going to compete with your favourite films of all time but in a way I don’t think that was their intention. It’s lighthearted, a little silly at times and I think that’s summarised by casting David Walliams in the film and having Keith lemon appear as well. 

I hope you enjoyed the review, let me know what you think in the comments especially if you have a different opinion on the film! 

Callan