I can IMPOSSIBLY outline the plot of Matthew Vaughn's Layer Cake, so I'll just say it's about a nameless guy (Daniel Craig) doing some criminal stuff in London.

In my observation there are three approaches to gangster characters in crime films: 1) The overly-amateurish 'gangsters' that are scared sh*t and mess up, like in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 2) The kind of gangster who is an amateur, but picks up on criminal ways quickly and effortlessly if the occasion calls for it, like Max the cab driver from Collateral and 3) The stone-cold professionals who can do whatever, whenever with whatever, like any mob-boss, contract killer, etc.

What is so endlessly refreshing about Layer Cake (2004) is that it applies none of these approaches to its main character Daniel Craig. He is a drug-dealer, but reluctantly resorts to violent ways. He hates guns. Murders and violence disturb him. He takes time to cope with things. He shows fear and hesitation. He actually bleeds when he is hit. In short, he is an extremely realistic person and this facilitates the film's realistic atmosphere - there's no glossy visuals or over-the-top violence.

Now, it is my opinion that Layer Cake could have perhaps used some of the latter to spice things up. Its director is the producer of Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and it is clear here that he is trying to move away from flashy Ritchie editing and effects as much as possible, making his own film just a bit too barren in order to be 'different'. It works fine, but as a result, the gangster characters aren't very funny or colourful - rather they are down-to-earth London men trying to make a living. A shady living, true, but still a living.

A few bland characters and an extra-template romantic storyline featuring Sienna Miller (I like her, but she is redundant in this film) drag this film down, but overall it is a very solid crime thriller, superbly acted by Daniel Craig. The score is great. In particular, please note the great use of "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran. Layer Cake isn't gloriously entertaining or anything but it feels very real and engaging and it is interesting to see the acting abilities of future Mr Bond - as well as his bare chest.

7/10

Matthew Vaughn who produced the Guy Ritchie gangster films steps in for his directorial debut with Layer Cake.

The film opens with a stylised sequence that grabs you buy the lapels as Daniel Craig goes through a few house rules on being player in the drugs trade.

This is the film that is said to have convinced the Bond producers that Craig was the man to get 007 status.

Craig plays a suave cocaine dealer who is more a businessman than a gangster and with a sideline in a legitimate business. With enough money laundered he is on the verge of calling it quits but like the Pacino character in Carlito's Way, things are never that simple when you want to walk away.

When crime boss Jimmy Price wants him to do a few favours things rapidly spiral out of control. He is implicated with rival gangsters, a Serb hitman and various double crosses.

Craig holds your attention from the very beginning, the plot rattles along at an entertaining pace. It maybe is one of the better British gangster films in the last 20 years.

I'm a big fan of Guy Ritchie's British gangster films LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and, especially, SNATCH, so when I saw this Daniel Craig-starrer was directed by the guy who produced those two films, I thought I'd check it out. Sadly, LAYER CAKE is a dull and derivative piece of work that shows what happens when film-makers churn out familiar, predictable movies in a bid to cash-in on the perceived current popularity of the genre. It happened with Japanese long-haired ghost girl movies, and it happened with British gangster movies. LAYER CAKE contains absolutely nothing we haven't seen before and it's a case of style over substance. Ritchie's films provide a liberal inspiration, as does Tarantino's PULP FICTION, but the difference is that LAYER CAKE has no heart and the style ain't that great, either.

Things begin on a bad foot with some truly atrocious comedy from some 'chav'-type gangsters and after a while the story begins for real. Basically, it involves Daniel Craig and his criminal buddies getting involved with stolen drugs and rival gangsters, and it all gets very complicated and not very interesting. This might well have been the reason Craig became Bond, because his acting's great and the best thing in this film, but his character is unlikeable and doesn't get a chance to be developed enough. Elsewhere, the supporting actors seem to be just going through the ropes: Michael Gambon and Kenneth Cranham as older generation gangsters, Colm Meaney as yet ANOTHER shouty-sweary-sweaty guy (basically THE SAME as the character he played in CON AIR), Sienna Miller as a dumb bimbo and others besides.

Granted, the film does have a few stand-out moments of genuine goodness; the sniper scene is one of these. There are some other memorable moments, usually the violent bits, a couple involving hot tea and an iron, but these are mere minutes in what seems like a very long film. The 'twist' ending is ripped straight out of CARLITO'S WAY and really was the final insult for this viewer. LAYER CAKE is a dumb, wannabe film and fans of the genre should stick with SNATCH.