Directed by: David Blair
Starring: Stephen Graham, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David O’Hara
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Distributed by: Well Go USA
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Running Time: 108 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A
“Best Laid Plans” caught my eye due to the fact it is an urban reworking loosely inspired by John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men”..but meets MMA fighting. The film itself is slow-paced in the beginning but is packed with really wonderful performances. Stephen Graham, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and David O’Hara are absolutely fantastic in this film. I mean fantastic! David Blair is a amazing director and he really nails it with this powerful British Drama. I would highly recommend this film, especially for MMA fans.
The film revolves around two friends, Danny (Stephen Graham) and Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who is the muscle of the two but has a mental age of seven. Danny gets really deep in debt to a crime boss and had no choice but to use Joseph in a series of underground cage fights in order to help Danny pay his debt.
The film is very thrilling and makes you want to re-watch a second time the minute it ends. It is also very gritty and the violence is very raw and real. Although the film does not contain any special features at all, Well-Go USA released this film as a combo pack. There is a Blu-ray and DVD disc included in this set. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this film overall I am very glad I saw it and I highly recommend it. BTW did I mention that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje gives one of his best performances of his career.