Director: Miles Watts

Release Date: 2010

Starring: Emma Keaveney, Paul Trimmer, Debbie Hard

Genre: Comedy/Action

Ok, confession time. I went into this film with the expectation of crappiness looming large. It’s low budget, it’s late on a Friday night and we’d just been to see the awesomeness that was Jackboots On Whitehall. This was an independent, low budget, black and white British film about vigilantes in York that bore some plot resemblance to the utterly brilliant Kick-Ass. Surely it couldn’t possibly be any good? At this point i should probably mention that i was wrong… Oh so very wrong.

Crime Fighters follows 3 friends living in a small town suffering from an escalating crime rate. As they all fall victims to various crimes one of them suddenly hits on the idea of become a superhero-type team of Crime Fighters to both protect the innocent and attempt to discover the evil plot lurking behind the sharp increase in crime.

It’s a good premise and the idea of rural superheroes lends itself to enough jokes to keep the film going. All this is helped by a genuinely brilliant script that produces some genuinely hilarious scenes throughout, though the first half hour of the film can drag on a bit as each character is given sufficient back story to make them both believable and genuinely likable. The script also does an excellent job of fleshing out the response of the public to these Crime fighters with several short sections where random members of the public are interviewed doing an excellent job of portraying exactly what impact the Crime fighters actions are having. Most importantly twists towards the end of the story feel natural and, in spite of three reveals coming in quick succession towards the end, the film never feels rushed.

The actors themselves generally put up a good show. The three main characters in particular are all well played and have believable relationships, however some of the ancillary characters are a bit weaker, though never enough to detract from the overall feel of the film as they are more often than not gone soon after appearing.

Really the only weakness of the film is some of the fight choreography. Punches never really seem to be connecting and at points it’s hard to ignore the fact that it’s clear the actors are mostly standing in place and waiting for the punches to come. Ultimately these are minor complaints that the film always manages to overcome through it’s sense of humour and the fact that the positives far outweigh the negative. The fights in particular are often complimentary the satirical nature of the film throughout, coming off as a pastiche of Hollywood heroes who can take on hordes of men without breaking a sweat.

Overall this is not a perfect film. It’s a film that has it’s flaws, but just as Kick-ass showed being a superhero was a downright stupid idea, Crimefighters, shows a sense of fun and escapism so often lacking in the dark overbearing comic book heroes of today. Ironically, for a black and white film, what Crimefighters does best is to add a bit of colour and character to the Crime fighting genre and as such it’s definitely worth seeing for both it’s witty dialogue and interesting plot.

Overall Verdict: Win

For More info on Crimefighters and potential screenings near you be sure to check out http://www.crimefightersfilm.com/