Sexy Beast (2001)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  One of the most enjoyable films of the decade and one of the very few where I really sympathized with the characters - even if some of them are cartoons. It's kinda "The Long Good Friday" meets the domestic stuff in the Sopranos. Ben Kigsley is just wild and Ray… More
  One of the most enjoyable films of the decade and one of the very few where I really sympathized with the characters - even if some of them are cartoons. It's kinda "The Long Good Friday" meets the domestic stuff in the Sopranos. Ben Kigsley is just wild and Ray Winstone is a truly lovable loser. All this and killer tunes.

• moon r

  
  Beautiful España is the setting where a retired mobster and friends are living happily in the chips until visited by a mob middleman with an offer of one last job. The main thrust of this tale, unlike others in a similar vein, is not the crime but rather simply the "asking"… More
  Beautiful España is the setting where a retired mobster and friends are living happily in the chips until visited by a mob middleman with an offer of one last job. The main thrust of this tale, unlike others in a similar vein, is not the crime but rather simply the "asking" and the asker: Ben Kingsley, playing against type as a foulmouthed middle management mob guy. Sparks fly and the point, the thrill, everyone in the film waits for it, is Ben saying bad words. Little more than that happens.

• Joseph M

  
  One of the best British Gangster films ever made. A highly enjoyable film about a former British Gangster Gary Dove (Ray Winstone) who now lives a private life in southern spain all is well until an unexpected visit from ruthless Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) who gives him one last Job… More
  One of the best British Gangster films ever made. A highly enjoyable film about a former British Gangster Gary Dove (Ray Winstone) who now lives a private life in southern spain all is well until an unexpected visit from ruthless Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) who gives him one last Job back in London. Ben Kingsley makes the film with his electrifying performance as Don Logan. With a Great ending and a an amazing bank heist, Sexy Beast is one of the British films that really stand out.

• Daniel P

  
  I am a sucker for any and all "One. Last. Job." gangster movies, and in many ways, this one breaks the mold, spending most of the film on the psychological drama around the job, instead of the usual "little set up, lots of heist footage" approach. Kingsley is… More
  I am a sucker for any and all "One. Last. Job." gangster movies, and in many ways, this one breaks the mold, spending most of the film on the psychological drama around the job, instead of the usual "little set up, lots of heist footage" approach. Kingsley is supremely badass and Winstone completely disappears in his role; together they own this film. I didn't like the number of loose ends that remained, but overall, this movie's cool factor is off the charts. It starts out like a Blake Edwards flick, rolls through Hitchcock and Tarantino, and then closes like Scorsese. Unorthodox storytelling and a pulsating, intense score. Good film.

• Al S

  
  A gripping, wild and explosive crime thriller. It's terrifically funny and wildly original. It's powerful and stunning with plenty of style to burn. Ben Kingsley is electrifying, one of his best performances of his career. Definitely one of the most memorable gangster… More
  A gripping, wild and explosive crime thriller. It's terrifically funny and wildly original. It's powerful and stunning with plenty of style to burn. Ben Kingsley is electrifying, one of his best performances of his career. Definitely one of the most memorable gangster characters since Scarface. Kingsley is live, snapping, sparking live wire that is a total tour de force. Ray Winstone is terrific. Ian McShane is marvelous. An instant classic. Bone-chilling and thrilling. A brilliant film. This is a movie that you cant turn away from. A masterpiece. It's dark, funny, wicked and refreshingly entertaining.

• Chris G

  
  Sexy Beast is about a retired bank robber named Gal (Ray Winstone) who is asked to return to the UK and help with another job. Asked isn't quite the correct term. Persuaded perhaps? No. How about bludgeoned psychologically into returning to his old profession. An old acquaintance… More
  Sexy Beast is about a retired bank robber named Gal (Ray Winstone) who is asked to return to the UK and help with another job. Asked isn't quite the correct term. Persuaded perhaps? No. How about bludgeoned psychologically into returning to his old profession. An old acquaintance named Don (Ben Kinglsey) comes to Gal's Spanish home and proceeds to verbally abuse everyone in the general area, wired beyond belief. Don can not shut up and everything out of his mouth is exactly what everyone doesn't want to hear. Sent by his boss (Ian McShane) Don will not take no for an answer. Hell, Don won't shut the hell up long enough to listen to anyone tell him no. Sexy Beast is an entertaining crime drama, pseudo comedy. It had an interesting plot that is a bit interesting. Nothing monumental, just interesting. The problem with the film is Ben Kingsley's performance. No, I haven't gone nutty and decided to bash one if his best roles. He's great as Don Logan. The problem is he's too great. Way to great in the role and it's this greatness that changes the third act from typical resolution of the problem into a long meandering path because we're sitting there marveling at the Kingsley role (which is relatively short lived in the film). There's no real pay off to end the film with- it's in the middle. Besides Kingsley, Winstone turns in a good performance and you'll forget McShane is even in the thing. What Sexy Beast represents is a film that would have been buried long ago had it not been for Ben Kingsley going bat shit on screen. He's the pulse of the film and when he's removed it dies on the table.

• Dean !

  
  A good crime thriller as an old psycho pal tries to convince a retired friend now in Spain to come back for one last job. Not a great plot but a fine cast and Ben Kingsley was great as the psycho who don't take the word no to well!

• Cassandra M

  
  Ben Kingsley is a sexy beast indeed Sexy Beast is a funny and highly enjoyable crime movie punctuated by some blood curdling violence. The film was directed by Jonathen Glazer, who was responsible for most of the recent amazing Guinness beer adverts. Ray Winstone is Gal, a retired… More
  Ben Kingsley is a sexy beast indeed Sexy Beast is a funny and highly enjoyable crime movie punctuated by some blood curdling violence. The film was directed by Jonathen Glazer, who was responsible for most of the recent amazing Guinness beer adverts. Ray Winstone is Gal, a retired criminal enjoying retirement in Spain with friends and the woman he loves. But this is shattered by the arrival of a menacing figure from his past in the shape of psychotic Don Logan (played with evil intensity by Ben Kingsley). Don wants Gal for one last spectacular job and will do just about anything to get him, including threatening Gal's beloved wife. The story is told at a fast pace, with several surreal interludes but never loses momentum. Ray Winstone puts in another lovable bad boy performance that he does so well, but the film is dominated by Kingsley who steals every scene he is in and creates one of the most menacing screen villains in recent memory. The brilliance of the film is that it manages to combine so many disparate elements (thriller, comedy, and a touching love story to say the least) into a cohesive and highly entertaining whole. A real pleasure to watch and a striking, brilliant debut.

• Derek D

  
  Ben Kingsley shocked me in this. He's Ghandi, for Christ's sakes! And Ghandi is dropping f-bombs like a drunken $2 whore. The dialogue is pretty good, but the cussing goes "just a bit" overboard (and is repetitive)while the story is actually pretty thin. Ray… More
  Ben Kingsley shocked me in this. He's Ghandi, for Christ's sakes! And Ghandi is dropping f-bombs like a drunken $2 whore. The dialogue is pretty good, but the cussing goes "just a bit" overboard (and is repetitive)while the story is actually pretty thin. Ray Winstone and Ian McShane were good in this, but they were kinda wasted a bit. Not bad, but could've been better. Maybe?

• Anthony L

  
  Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. 'You made me look a right cunt'! Best British film in years! Brilliant!

• Dan S

  
  This movie is all about Ben Kingsley. Winstone is the lead here who just wants to be left alone while Kinglsey raids him to death to do one last job. Great performances from Ben and Ray, with solid support and a story that teaches a good moral lesson (pick your business and your… More
  This movie is all about Ben Kingsley. Winstone is the lead here who just wants to be left alone while Kinglsey raids him to death to do one last job. Great performances from Ben and Ray, with solid support and a story that teaches a good moral lesson (pick your business and your friends wisely).

• Lady D

  
  A superb performance by Ben Kingsley who had the accent and style of talk down to an absolute ?T?. The film itself and storyline seemed to lack something I can?t quite put my finger on. Less convincing to British viewers was the idea of Ian McShane, aka Lovejoy as the top guy.… More
  A superb performance by Ben Kingsley who had the accent and style of talk down to an absolute ?T?. The film itself and storyline seemed to lack something I can?t quite put my finger on. Less convincing to British viewers was the idea of Ian McShane, aka Lovejoy as the top guy. <br/> <br/>Ben Kingsley?s performance is definitely the biggest contribution to the amount of stars but just have to mention how great Amanda Redman looked in this, especially as a Brunette.

• Tim S

  
  I watched this movie again last night and re-realized how badass it is. Kingsley is insane and, again, Glazer is one of the most underrated directors we have out there right now.

• Tsubaki S

  
  Two words: Don motherfucking Logan bitch! (okay those were four words) Ben Kingsley dominates the screen as a psichotic gangster who won't take a "no" for an answer. Smartly enough, the movie manages to give a balance to the outrageous Don Logan by giving him an even… More
  Two words: Don motherfucking Logan bitch! (okay those were four words) Ben Kingsley dominates the screen as a psichotic gangster who won't take a "no" for an answer. Smartly enough, the movie manages to give a balance to the outrageous Don Logan by giving him an even more fearsome boss, but in a whole different way: Ian McShane. The rest of the cast is good too, and the film is just further proof that stories don't make a movie great, it's the characters.

• Ken S

  
  Wicked performances by Kingsley & Winstone & the rabbit

• Cindy I

  
  A familiar story -- retired ganster recruited to do one more job -- but done very well. Ben Kingsley is downright scary as the psycho gangster in charge of the recruiting. The best thing about this film is that it turned me on to Ray Winstone.

• Michael G

  
  I have a love/hate relationship with Sexy Beast. The incoherent/drunken mumbling and/or narration pissed me off to no end. Then trying to figure out if Jason Statham balled Ricky Gervais or vice versa as far as how Ray Winstone was conceived only fueled that fire. As far as the love… More
  I have a love/hate relationship with Sexy Beast. The incoherent/drunken mumbling and/or narration pissed me off to no end. Then trying to figure out if Jason Statham balled Ricky Gervais or vice versa as far as how Ray Winstone was conceived only fueled that fire. As far as the love part, Ben Kingsley was pretty much that end of the spectrum for me. It was interesting for a while, but for as much hype was put on The Job, not very much emphasis was placed on it. All in all, it's pretty much overrated for me, but I'd recommend it if you've got nothing else to do. But when the credits rolled, all I could ask myself was So What?

• xGary X

  
  Ray Winstone and especially Ben Kingsley (who'd have thought Ghandi could be so intimidating?!) are as supremely watchable as ever in a rather shallow caper movie that's far more interesting when Kingsley is on the screen.

• Aaron N

  
  If you wanna see a movie where Ghandi talks a lot of shit and acts hardcore, this is it.

• Nate Z

  
  [font=Arial][color=darkred]Anyway here's a quick look at some recent rentals of mine and the thoughts that they provoked and the feelings I wanted to either scream about or just scream period.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Training Day - Denzel Washington won an… More
  [font=Arial][color=darkred]Anyway here's a quick look at some recent rentals of mine and the thoughts that they provoked and the feelings I wanted to either scream about or just scream period.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Training Day - Denzel Washington won an Oscar for this? Instead of Malcolm X? For THIS?! Yes he gets to huff and puff as he plays against type as a dirty cop, but is this reason alone to give an Academy Award to such a forgettable and collectively implausible film? Ethan Hawk, his co-star, is actually better in the film than Denzel! All I can say is right actor, wrong movie. It's like rewarding Kevin Spacey for Pay It Forward over the other screamingly better movies. It doesn't make sense. There are plenty of hip-hop stars making cameos or small roles (Dr. Dre, Snoop, Macy Gray) but most of the time Training Day feels like tired and dead air especially as the contrivances begin to pile onto one another the longer this day goes. And Denzel is huffing and puffing but the house still stands. Man, the voters must really have not wanted Russell Crowe to win.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Serendipity - There's a universe somewhere populated entirely with down-on-their-luck lovable sweethearts and good-hearted friendly buffoons operated under the physics of romantic comedies. In this universe there is no such thing as chance, even if one leaves it up to it, and in this place what would seem like frustratingly idiotic behavior seems romantic. So is Serendipity revolving in this universe. Kate Beckinsale is a gal that leaves everything to fate, possibly even her taxes, and John Cusack is the smitten man running all over the place trying to find this mad woman. In our world Beckinsale would seem foolish or even mean-spirited, but because the two will definitely end up in each other's arms before the credits roll we allow her to continue her ridiculous behavior. She puts Cusack in a seemingly cruel obstacle course of chance to win her heart. These people operate outside of our known world. Eugene Levy has a brief and funny part in the movie but otherwise Serendipity takes itself as being much cuter and smarter than it is.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C-[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Sexy Beast - Never, under any circumstances, do you want to piss off Gandhi. Sexy Beast is a British crime story where the ferocious mad dog Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) is trying to recruit a retired hand (Ray Winstone) into one last job back in London. Winstone is enjoying the sun of California with his middle-aged ex-porn star wife who he loves dearly. But Don does not take "no" for an answer. Kingsley is the true focal point of the film and is astounding and brutally terrifying as the wound up gangster. He gives an electrifying performance that is the polar opposite of India's non-violent leader. When Kingsley vanishes from the screen Sexy Beast suffers and becomes a variation of the old crime film, except a very short one at that being under 90 minutes of running time. Video director Jonathon Glazer has done a fine job for his debut but there isn't much to this tale without Kingsley's memorable efforts.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Series 7: The Contenders - A scathing satire of our media and bloodthirsty society wanting something always pushing the boundaries. Writer-director Daniel Minahan has created a future where the most popular TV show is called "The Contenders" and selects five strangers at random in the same town as contestants. The problem is that these five people, including the winner of the previous season, are now on a manhunt in a kill-or-be-killed situation where the only prize of this game show is one's own life. Series 7 is skillfully made to be indistinguishable from other reality TV shows except for the bursts of language and violence. If you were playing this and a friend walked into the room they would be convinced it was a TV show. The film gets a little soap operish toward the end with its characters dealing with haunted love but the film is a fast and entertaining warning piece that might provoke as many thoughts as cries for blood.[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B+[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Audition - Ever seen a sick joke made into a movie? A Japanese movie? Well rest assured that you now can. The crux of this film centers around a widowed father raising his teenage son who suggests that dad begins to find a new wife so they can once again have a family. His friend comes up with the idea for an audition where they bring in hundreds of candidates and they can see which can ignite sparks. Sounds like an intriguing premise to a promising and cute foreign romantic comedy? Can you picture the fun and charming moments in your head as this premise plays out? Well now erase all that and replace it with a sudden violent shift into second-rate Cronenberg territory. The special one that the father picks ends up having a mysterious past that involves sexual mutilation by a frisky uncle who is now leg-less. Guess who did that? And then it gets even darker as the gal seems to hobble those around her for permanent company and slices and dices those she feels do not love her anymore. Where the hell did all this stuff come from? And that's the point: it comes from nowhere! The shift is so jarring that it happens like you're locked in a drag race. The horror is so over the top and inane that what seemed promising now turns into a great conversation piece with friends. "Hey, there was this movie that seemed like it would be fun and romantic and then suddenly..."[/color][/font] [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: D+ [/color][/font]

Read all 20 featured audience ratings