Layer Cake

It has seemed for some time now that Matthew Vaughn is just trying to stylishly pick out the best tricks from his friend Guy Ritchie's golden scams, so I enjoyed watching the young or unknown faces of future or current stars more than the over-complicated plot. However, the viewer gets used to the number of characters and the turbulent changes in mood, and suddenly the fast pace seemed almost flawless to me. An incredibly precise and fresh gangster film for a debut, even though it's just a precursor to the director's abilities and potential for his future films. (15/08/2019)

Superb. Vaughn is talented and serves up this great genre piece excellently. Camera tricks, great music, focus on actors... Today these are the creme de la creme of British actors and you can see that Craig put a lot of Mr. Into Bond. The story is well-thought through, has some surprises in store and, most importantly, it’s entertaining. (28/07/2013)

Matthew Vaughn is now a well-respected director, but his early works were largely unknown to me until now. I have a fondness for British detective films because they have a unique style, much like wine is to France. Layer Cake fits perfectly into this category. I was pleasantly surprised by the film’s approach, which felt more lighthearted, even though it tackled serious themes that should be treated with some respect (and that’s what gave it its charm). The decision to cast Daniel Craig in the lead role was a spot-on choice, and with the rest of the cast being British, I was treated to that excellent British humor full of satire—not everyone may enjoy it, but I devour it. I liked the story, as it had interesting moments and boasted an original plot. I also have to give extra points for the soundtrack, which, while sometimes extravagant, fit perfectly into the scenes and was clearly the work of a genius. More films like this, please. I give it 79%. (11/06/2017)

Having seen Stardust (and been captivated by it) and most recently Kick-Ass (which captivated me even more), I decided to give Matthew Vaughn's work a go and got his first feature film to take home as well. Layer Cake is certainly a well made gangster flick with the more than good Daniel Craig in the lead role, and while it doesn't quite achieve the same "grit" as, say, Snatch, it comes across as wholesome and likeable and provides what it should in terms of genre. 80% (17/06/2010)

Another in a series of pictures about the contemporary drug underworld that are full of dirty tricks, twists and that sort of thing. Debutant Matthew Vaughn did a good job and is helped considerably by a strong screenplay. The best thing about this is that this isn’t meant to be a spoof. In fact, quite the opposite. It is serious from start to finish. And that is good, very good, because we have seen far too many variations on “cool Richie pics". (21/04/2022)