The Guvnors

Within the admittedly limited genre of cross-generational British gang thrillers, The Guvnors is definitely one of the better ones. It's decently made and acted, and less rooted in rose-tinted nostalgia than many such films. Hip-hop star Harley Sylvester, from the duo Rizzle Kicks, plays the thoroughly nasty new kid on the block - complete with scar, sniff tic and attitude - though still a good boy to his brother. It's his film debut, and very good he is too - genuinely scary. Doug Allen plays a former gang "guvnor" on the South London estate Harley and his gang now terrorise. Now a middle-aged family man, he's gone straight and is working in the City. When Harley decides to boost his standing by facing up to Allen, the battle ranks assemble on either side of the generational divide, and humiliation and death follow. It shades into corniness and contrived plot twists, but the film generally does a good job of breathing life back into a well-worn genre. Watch out, too, for a cameo from another pop star, an almost unrecognisable David Essex.