Menace d'État

Bon film !

After reading the plot, reviewing some of the comments here, I thought this was going to be a much better film that it was. Halfway through, I was willing it to be, but alas, it wasn't. It was only at the end, when seeing the titles, that I saw the ominous text "Written, Directed and Produced" by the same person! My past experience shows that it is extremely rare for a movie to work when it has the same person trying to do everything behind the scenes – "Topsy Turvy" excluded. It's like there is no one there to carry out the checks and balances. Major Spoiler following: A lot of the story is quite unbelievable, and the way it moves between flashbacks and the present is quite annoying, and at one stage, stays so long in the past, you almost forget about what is happening in the present. Too many times our hero is about to finish the baddie when he is suddenly distracted by either a fire alarm, his partner opening the door or the light going off. It is done too many times, and becomes annoying. Once our hero had located the first lead, the story went into a steep decline. It is unbelievable that they would use the hooker to knock on the door and fearlessly lead the bad guy on. The writer has taken no account of her fears or feelings, and has written a comic book character. What is more, why didn't they call in an anti terrorist team to surround the house and take him out – the team wouldn't have needed to know the details, and it would have stopped him escaping – and would be closer to real life. For me, the Characters just didn't work. Sean Bean's character alternates between a "Callan" type character – rebellious toward authority, but with a strong moral conscience about killing – and then is suddenly a Terminator figure. His partner's character came across as quite confusing, and I still have no idea why he did some of the things he did, or why they had a wind up toy. There are lots more about this film I didn't like, the main one being the script. It is a real shame that with the acting talent, location, and budget provided, that they didn't go and find a better story.

I seldom like like British movie because most of the time the plot is always so slow and the action is so lame. So I was very surprise when I watch this movie. The action is good, the story line is good and Sean Bean is really at the top of his performance. The only thing which I do not like too much about this movie is the excessive violence, even-though it is part of the story. The skin part is not too much and I have a feeling that they are there just to spice up the movie, because there is no relation with the whole story. The ending was not exactly what I expected, which made it even nicer. I should have given a 10 for this movie, but then there is still some room for improvement...

The movie was good, not amazing or poor but a solid "good". The violence is very intense and brutal, there is an air of brutality that pervades this film. Bot the the leads have it and it is sometimes shocking but it is effective nonetheless. The subject matter is nothing 24 has not covered, Jack Bauer at his most vicious is just the same as the Sean Bean character, both are prepared to go to questionable lengths to save innocent lives. I did enjoy the big ending at the wedding and cheered when Ash got it in the head numerous times, the fx were convincing. There is standard twist as there always is with most thrillers of this subject matter but its not that revelatory but it works. Its good to see Sean Bean working on good projects again, since he did the excellent Game of Thrones and Cleanskin is a good project.

Liked this film loads because it is is quintessentially British apart from its visual style which is slick. Sean bean plays the down at heals, troubled tortured and brutal agent with a dark past, he does it as he always does it, with minimal fuss and brooding intensity. The British terrorist is played well by Abhin Galeya, it shows how these British born guys go and do these horrible things but not in much detail as the film is primarily entertainment but that doesn't mean its not smart but hey look. a terrorist gets shot in mid air, so its not that realistic but it is entertaining. The action is tough no nonsense, a real gritty feel to it and skillfully done. It looks like it hurt. Some superb stunts in here. The plotting is lean and fast paced. Charlotte Rampling is a class act all the way and plays her part with finesse as do the other actors in the film. All in all a rollicking cracking old fashioned British thriller old boy, wot wot!!

Pity a great actor like Sean Bean is wasted on this film full of western fantasies about Muslim terror cells . Aside from the terrible accents of the Muslims and the idea that all Muslims struggle with relationships with white women lol the basic mistakes like not knowing the Islamic Prayer ( Ash talks on his phone whilst praying ) and the fact the middle eastern hit man is calling Ash and inglese (englishman) because of his usage of a knife and fork , whilst he himself is eating with his left hand lol a major no no. The film is a great action movie however and it does nobly try and remain objective . The major plus factor for me is the fact that the imam is clearly based Omar bakri also known as the tottenham ayatollah ....

This movie is a bizare mishmash of themes. It was marketed as some sort of sean bean action movie turns into a love the terrorist drama then a conspiracy theory anti government thing. Oh and has ultra violence to boot. What idiot though anyone who liked one of these things would like the whole??? And so it starts as a gritty British action movie. Okay cool if a bit slow for that type of movie, about 20 mins in and me and my mates are like "what the . . . " did we change channels, weren't we watching a sean bean film, who is this guy and why did the movie just end. Seriously, they just stop following the action story and start on a new tact for like 30 minutes of explaining away terrorism drama, then go back to the action movie bit and then go government crazy. I seriously don't get who wants to watch an ultra violent action movie and an terrorist apoligist drama at the same time. Must be an audience of like 5 people in all of the UK. Truly bizarre concept, and the marketing was horrible, tell me its an action movie and thats what I expect.

This is a fast moving, twisting thriller taking you on a trip through the mind of a blood thirsty killer. Clearskin refers to a terrorist trained as a killer who is unknown to the authorities and will kill as instructed any target. Sean plays a secret serviceman a little less 007 a little more careless of who he shoots as long as it gets the job done He has no remorse and will take no prisoners The twist is unseen and leaves you feeling very cold Hopefully a sequel will be in the making as this story just needs to be continued. It is my thought having been a lucky invitee to a pre-release viewing that this should win the BAFTA for 2012/2013 and more it could see Bean take his first Oscar, it is that good This is a must see film and one to be so very proud of.

Cleanskin is a British thriller starring Sean Bean as an agent on the trail of a terrorist cell which is planning an outrage ("cleanskin" is a term meaning that the person being sought is not previously known to the authorities). The story is solid, and benefits from the fact that the characters are not absolutes: we can see that the terrorists are not without virtue and, similarly, that those who seek to prevent their scheme are not necessarily good people (or, at the least, they are morally compromised). There is some violence which is frequently very graphic, if brief. I didn't think Bean was very good in this. I appreciated that his character was going through his own problems and that this was probably why he was portrayed as somewhat distracted most of the time: I felt the character needed to be shown as much more tightly focused in view of the importance of what he was doing. Plus the "gruff northerner" meant he was often almost incomprehensible (and as someone who is more than familiar with a Yorkshire accent, that is a real criticism as far as this film moving into a wider market is concerned). And, without commenting on whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, take away the graphic violence, and this film seemed like an extended TV episode of a BBC MI5 series.

Sean Bean at his usual best in a very current political story line showcase. A slow star gets you warmed up to the cast but the plot soon thickens and quite accurately portrays the UK Islamism underbelly and pulls no punches. I have to say that some of the acting is a bit paint by numbers at the very beginning but that soon disappears as the story starts to unfold. Sean Bean's part as the bitter, vengeful secret agent is played perfectly. Absolute cold hatred for terrorists blended with a sense of justice for his own personal loss makes his character (Ewan) a very angry man. Abin Galeya also plays his character to perfection. Spinning the other side of the coin for a young British Muslin who feels the injustice and racism is just to much to take. Coming from Muslim upbringing but living in Western society is synonymous for many young Muslims in the UK and he makes every line count. The final twist may leave you with an uncomfortable feeling as the credits roll. Action & plot, setting & quality acting! It's all you need for a great film.