Critic Reviews

• Cath Clarke, Time Out

  Roth's performance and handful of dry-as-a-bone one-liners keep it from the straight-to-DVD pile. Just.

• Rich Cline, Contactmusic.com

  Blackly comical writing and direction add a playful slant to what could have been a typically over-serious British crime thriller.

• Charlotte O'Sullivan, This is London

  Films are invariably fuelled by fantasy but it's the supposedly gritty context that makes this stuff so hard to swallow.

• Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express

  Promising talent all round, including director Craig Viveiros.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  A flawed but interesting downbeat Brit thriller with some creepy, leftfield jolts, calling to mind Mike Hodges with a twist of Tarantino.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  The movie, directed with insufficient faith in the writing by Craig Viveiros, sells out character development in favour of garish contrivance ...

• Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

  The film goes nowhere much in affably elaborate patterns - like a deranged SatNav ...

• Lisa Giles-Keddie, HeyUGuys

  Offers some well-rounded performances from Roth, O'Connell and Mullan ... it offers nothing beyond the usual markers of such a coming-of-age film ...

• Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

  Watchable, blackly comic British thriller enlivened by likeable performances, some engagingly left-field turns and a script that's peppered with decent one-liners ...

• Siobhan Synnot, Scotsman

  Gets mired in the usual amoral stone-cold stuff that makes you wish there weren't quite so many British directors keen to serve as apprentices to the Guy Ritchie school of tight and ruthless filmmaking.

• James Mottram, The List

  Between Roth and O'Connell, there is an amusing chemistry - though the script lacks the sheer aggression of Sexy Beast or foul-mouthed word play of In Bruges, two other fine examples in this arena, to be ranked alongside either.

• Anna Smith, Empire Magazine

  A blackly effective British road movie fuelled by the easy chemistry between the two leads.

• Paul Chambers, Movie Chambers

  A bit of a surprise in the direct-to-video market. "The Liability" is not the greatest film about British gangsters. Not by a long shot. But, it does have its moments, thanks to the excellent Tim Roth.

• Jeff Beck, Examiner.com

  Don't let the direct-to-DVD status of the project fool you. "The Liability" is a film that has a decent amount of entertainment to offer, particularly with the story and characters.

• Neil Smith, Total Film

  Craig Viveiros' witty, grisly Brit flick about a weary assassin reluctantly mentoring a cocky upstart.

Read all 15 critic reviews