THE PLOT THUS FAR
A British secret service agent is faced with the task of pursuing and eliminating a British-born suicide bomber and his terrorist cell.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Cleanskin” is quite deep and researched, and has by no means taken the easy approach in deploying a feature film from such broken society and inhumane atrocities, all of which are very much alive and raw in the atmosphere of London. Sean Bean is a capable lead, but he feels unbalanced against the threat of terrorism. Ewan and Ash are strong characters, but we needed more time to delve into their reasoning. The grooming of the young Muslim men is portrayed well and we see how the master manipulator having served his time fighting the Russians in Afghanistan now solely pulls the strings. The dual message of simultaneous indoctrination/manipulation is clear when the viewer watches the character of Ash develop.
Ewen’s world mirrors Ash in that Ash is a young man finding his way in the world -for right or wrong. Sean Bean’s Ewen is a man with stern resolve and scarred by experiences, his story sees him cut like a knife through everything in his way -for right or wrong. Ewen is not one- dimensional, but like Ash/Ashraf they have to really consider their actions and the repercussions involved. All the killings and brutality in the film are suffered by believable characters with a back-story and there’s more pathos than you’ll find in most novels.
The Blu-Ray comes with a making-of featurette and trailer. The A/V Quality is pretty strong for an indie foreign release. The 1080p transfer is strong. However, I felt that the DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track could’ve been stepped up. In the end, I’d still recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
