Return of my favourite Saint

Growing up like most people of my age my first memories of TV are programmes such as The Clangers, Rainbow, Thunderbirds and Doctor Who but the first programme I can really remember being a fan of was Return of the Saint.

Simon Templar was so cool, helping out the damsels in distress, it had a catchy theme, Ian Ogilvy was just so cool (guess he had to be, following 007 Roger Moore, the original saint) and his car, the Jaguar XJS was just the coolest thing I’d seen on TV (It’s a car I still love and brought the Corgi re-issue of it which I luckily got the as cool Ian to sign when I saw him in a play)

I’ve seen Ian turn up in various guest roles on TV but can’t remember last time I saw him in a lead role unless you count watching repeats of Return of the Saint on ITV4

So when I heard of the film We Still Kill the Old Way, I was very pleased although when saw the box it looked like one of those numerous Brit Gangster flicks that Danny Dyer turns up in (this film even proudly states its from the makes of one of those said films Vendetta) but it was a reasonable price and the supporting cast made me think it would be worth a watch and it was a gamble I’m pleased to say paid off

The film starts with Ian as Ritchie Archer, retired in Spain having left the ‘business’ he ran with his gang of brother Charlie (Goto Eighties bad guy Steven Berkoff) Arthur (James Cosmo) Butch (Tony Denham) and Roy (Chris Ellison aka Burnside from TV’s The Bill)

The business is more of a legacy to equal that of say the Krays and now they have moved on, the streets are awash with drug deals and knife crimes pioneered by the deadly E2 gang led by nasty piece of work Aaron (Played by Danny Boy Hatchard, Eastenders Lee Carter)

Aaron and his gang have been terrorising Lauren (played by Dani Dyer, daughter of Danny Dyer) and when only Charlie is the only one to try to protect her, he is violently killed causing Ritchie to return to seek revenge and rid the streets of the E2 gang

This film really hits you in the same way that the Michael Caine film ‘Harry Brown’ did, you really are sickened by the acts of the E2 gang and can imagine the fear they put into the others who live around them, added to this, with the Archer gang being such recognisable characters and given some great lines and are more fun than menacing you really do hope Ritchie gets the bad guy even if against the law, especially when it appears the police (Led by Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade’s Alison Doody) are doing nothing to stop it.

What happens next is the Archer gang returning to reclaim their turf and the E2 gang trying to stop them, with many members being killed off as Ritchie tries to find the whereabouts of leader Aaron

The film ends with a face-off between the 2 gangs in a hospital ward, of all places as the old dogs challenge the new kids on the block

If you like this sort of film such as previously mention Harry Brown to the original vigilante film Film Death Wish, you could do a lot worse than give this film a go, excellent casting means you really do route for the Archer gang despite there obvious nasty past and the E2 gang are extremely nasty so you show no sympathy for them. Ian, of course, does the man wanting revenge so well, as anyone who has seen Hammer’s Witchfinder General will know

Having done the vigilante storyline, the film ends with the tag line the Archer gang will return in We still steal the old way so a crime caper sequel sounds like something to keep my eye out for

You can buy We still kill the old way at Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1E7rju4

And for news of the sequels release, be sure to check out https://www.facebook.com/barkingmadaboutfilms