User Reviews

I caught this in Cannes and was thoroughly impressed as the UK has been crying out for a good, character-based action film for ages. The set-pieces in the film (some brutal cage fights and other action scenes) are really well structured, but more importantly they all have a sense of character. You really care about the characters involved and their motivations dictate the actions they take. Also the action is refreshingly realistic and crisply shot and edited, unlike a lot of other films these days.

I won't mention any spoilers but the performances here are very good, especially Billy Murray as Gabe, and Danny Midwinter who gives a genuinely terrifying performance as the main villain Christi. Craig Fairbrass lends solid support but his character is the only one that feels slightly under-written, unless perhaps some of his character's scenes were deleted? Christi's main henchman (Andrew Tiernan I think) and the main cage fighter character were both splendid as well.

The ending of the film is a bit ambiguous but this only adds to the reality of the situation portrayed.

I would recommend Freight to fans of action drama, and for fans of cracking, old-school British cinema. You won't be disappointed.

I hesitate to add lots negatives here but, poorly scripted, all characters were not established, so was left wondering till later in the movie who was who. Mediocre acting all the way, but good special effects and quite good fight scenes. The political points well rammed home (probably unintentional) but all I wanted to watch was a darned good gangster flick. Didn't get it. If you want a good flick try London Boulevard, not this one. Not authentic and OTT. Met Matt Kennard (Sonny) several months back, who worked hard to get in shape, and he is a fitty (no acting there), came across at the time as a really nice chappie, but this is not his best effort and know he can do better given a classy script, plus acting alongside widescreen experienced actors. Another involvement with a flop like this and it will run a mega risk for him of tarnishing future career prospects. In a nutshell finally, loose ends galore, and 'mucho' disappointed. Still waiting on a gangster flick classic sometime ; maybe their days have come & gone.

The foremost question I ask myself after I am done watching movie is - was I entertained? Regarding the movie Freight the answer is no.

The action and effects were sub par, the plot was non existent save damsel in distress sort of gibberish. None of the actors stood out enough to save me from severe boredom.

Basically nothing stood out in this film. The drama did not appeal to my good nature. I was not moved by tears of Russian/Romanian prostitutes and their unfortunate husbands. The action scenes seems like something from days long gone without flash grandeur or anything remotely memorable. The plot - was focused on something I know I have seen thousand times before more specifically illegal aliens problem. I guess US has Mexicans and Cubans and this movie tries to show that UK's problem with influx of cheap prostitutes from Eastern Europe is no less of a problem.

I would not recommend this movie to anyone other than British nationals to whom this movie may appeal as there is an happy end!

Freight probably rates high on the list of worst movies I've ever viewed. Are the reviewers who gave this movie the thumbs up high on LSD? Okay, so the concept is great and has potential however the poor acting, poorer casting, complete lack of depth to main characters, bad cinematography and gaping holes throughout the narrative ruin any chance of obtaining ANY potential the concept has. My wife has now banned me from deciding our next films to view choices (I'm ashamed to admit it was my idea to watch Freight, I can't even lay blame on another!). How on earth the producers managed to gain finance for this film is completely beyond me. WARNING! LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO WASTE TIME WATCHING BAD MOVIES ;)

ANOTHER MORAL HOLIDAY from the small island desperate to reinvent itself and it's Film Industry

Wack wack WACK! British gangsta movie. It's pathetic not just because of the 'plot', the 'action' (neanderthal grunts of men 'fighting'), or the ugly cast (where the hell they get these ugly, ugly people from?) but the racial politics are disgusting… like really disgusting, enough to make one think this is an MI7 funded bout of psychological warfare.

The hubby to be is Asian and get this, the Black guy in this psychological propaganda turkey is saved by the English noble gangstas from the evil East European thugs. This turkey of a film can only be of use for Cultural Studies and Guerellla Intellectuals to watch and dissect. It's pathetic to see how that dreary drizzle island that invented racism (as Bro Jessie Jackson said) reinvents itself and casts its 400 years of sin onto East Europeans. It's the East Europeans who abuse for the buck ( yea right, not the 400 years of that Welfar Queen's plantation history). Where where oh where were are the films about that era of enslavement, enslavement and neocolonialism? oh yea, made in the US. You want gangsta go to older films this turkey hasn't learned from made in the US, You want Trafficking films ? do the same.

And yea, I was born and seasoned in South London and left for the USA, not just for the great gangsta movies they make with the great sound tracks.

As a fan of British gangster movies I was looking forward to watching this, but this movie is so bad - one of the worst I've ever seen. The similarities to Taken in terms of plot are obvious, but that's all this has in common with that much superior effort. The direction in Freight is hit and miss and the script is terrible, it often resembles a home movie with added fireworks. Sadly some of the acting is even worse than the script. Did the director not bother with auditions? There are so many bad performances in the movie but the actors playing the twins are so bad they'll actually make you laugh, two passers-by could have been dragged in off the street who would look more comfortable in front of a camera. The best advice I can give to the actor playing Stevie is to give up and get a proper job, because he is not an actor. His brother playing Sonny may be even worse and more wooden, removing the energy out of every scene he's in with a strange anti-charisma and expressionless face. Hardly surprising to note via IMDb that other than a bit part on Channel 4 he has hardly worked since he left run of the mill daytime soap Doctors. You wonder how some actors manage to pay the rent.

Trying to look at the positives I suppose the film has it's heart in the right place, human trafficking is an evil that ruins many lives, but you have to wonder about the good that charities concerned with helping the victims of human trafficking could have done with the £2.5 million budget which Freight supposedly cost (what WAS that budget spent on, it looks like it cost a tenth of that amount). A couple of other positives, and the reason this gets two stars from me rather than one, are the performances of Billy Murray and Laura Aikman. Both actors should be free of any criticism aimed at Freight. Murray phones it in here, appears to be going through the motions and thinking about the pay cheque (just like those ambulance chasing commercials he appears in) but he is as competent as ever. Laura Aikman does well also as kidnap victim Julie. She clearly has talent, it's just a shame she ends up in duffers like this. Taking a look at the directors IMDb profile it appears he's a relative of hers (Uncle? Father?) so you can understand why she took the role on. Sadly though appearing in movies like this may only harm her future employability. St Paul may have a future as a director, but probably not as a writer, and hopefully he will do better in the future with a script created by others.

Freight delivers a reasonable story, decent acting and a fair message. While it's not top budget, it's well paced with sufficient action to keep you going. The story has appeal without being overly sentimental. If you appreciate indie film, moderate transgression, and a few punch-ups - this little flick delivers.

The bad guys are also well done. Danny Midwinter - as the lead nasty, does an excellent job of being nefarious. His sneer and wonderfully grotesque laugh captures the sinister Eastern European Mafia persona quite nicely.

It won't hurt you to give this a try.

I wanted to like this movie it's British and so am I. It's writer and director are obviously alarmed at the criminal elements flooding in the U.K. and so am I. So why didn't I like it? Firstly the acting, over the top clichéd Eastern European accents by British actors ( I know their Brits because of all the commercials I've seen them in). The actual "stars" were pretty poor to I really think they wanted a leading man to be like Bob Hoskins in "The Long Good Friday" but it just didn't work.

Secondly the plot was so full of holes it must have resembled a teabag.

I really can't be bothered to list them all as it would take as long as the 88 minutes I spent watching this stink bomb.

Finally the action and amount of killings were at a cartoon like level and never a policeman in the area? The UK isn't this violent it is a violent place but not in the way portrayed here.

The only plus for this film is that it didn't have Danny Dyer in it that was the only reason I decided to watch it. If your looking for a good British gangster movie, look elsewhere.

This is a facts and figures review of FREIGHT, rather than an opinion based review, and it will hopefully lead the reader to be able to judge whether it is a film they wish to see. DESCRIPTION: themed on sex trafficking, human trafficking, it inevitably relates to gang crime and has violence and action. It is a pacey movie that follows two families, one UK and one from Moldavia who are effected by trafficking. The film has a strong female story/interest so is not just a boys action film. Similar to Taken in some ways. CERTIFICATION: the producers wanted and felt in could be a 15 but the BBFC gave it an 18, it was sent back and reviewed by senior inspectors who sympathised but upheld the 18, not on the level of violence but 'the overall tone' of the film and it's harsh depiction of the sex trade. The BBFC notes can be seen on their site, but they obviously felt the treatment of sex trafficking was more disturbing than Eastern Promises, which they gave a 15 and more in line with Taken that was given an 18. There is no use of the 'c' word, and just over 60 uses of the 'f' word. There is almost no nudity and no enforced sex scenes as in Eastern Promises. ORIGIN AND STORY BASE: The script was anchored on a Moldavian plight after the writer saw Michael Pailin's New Europe when he was shown, by a UNISEF officer, the huge trafficking problem in the poorest country in Europe. youtube.com/watch?v=fEMRmqkZ1Hw It uses a collection of stories about Eastern European crime in the UK, highlighted by the recent high profile case of the Romanian father and son prosecuted for sex trafficking in the UK. It is set in northern England, mentions Leeds, but could be anywhere. DVD and EXTRAS: If the copy you are offered does not have the ICON logo on the front it is likely a pirate of a very early test edit. The real DVD has the ICON logo and is the version seen in the cinema. The real version also has 112 minutes of interviews including the Eastern European actresses who have first hand knowledge of sex trafficking and behind the scenes footage and films which differ from the many films on the Youtube.com/freight2010 TV channel, which in itself gives enough background and footage to show the film you will see. INDUSTRY ACLAIM AWARDS: Action films do not normally win awards so it was only entered into 3 festivals in the USA to develop a market there as it has no US stars. Surprisingly it won Best Director and Best Actor at the prestigious Breckenridge Film Festival, the Silver Palm Award at the Mexican International Film Festival with a special note on its 'excellence in film making'. It was also nominated (last 5 in category) for Best Special Effects (Graham Aikman) and Best Foreign Film (non US film) at the AOF in Los Angeles. CAST: With no real movie stars, Billy Murray, Craig Fairbrass and Laura Aikman are the best known. But all the others are known for TV shows somewhere. The films web site is full of information and pictures and links freight2010.co.uk If you want to see footage and clips youtube.com/freight2010 will give you ample opportunity. The official press site is handled by noble PR on noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/icon/freight.htm CONCLUSION: there is enough material around to assess the film well and it does do what is says on the tin. If you like action films you will like it, if you like human stores it will have enough depth but be disturbing, it is not an easy subject matter… but see the directors other film Devil's Gate and you will see he hits topics head on. If you are Russian or Romanian, you might be a little offended, but it is not about all Eastern Europeans, just the criminals and it shows good and bad in all. If you use the sex trade or work in it, you definitely won't appreciate this film.

I went to watch Freight on its opening night at the cinema and ended up going back the following night as well. Freight is a gritty, British action film, based on the cruel reality of human trafficking from eastern europe; the women forced into the sex trade, the men into cage fighting. The film pulls no punches in showing this. The good casting of the cold, ruthless Russian gang members really adds to the harshness of the film. Freight grabs your attention right from the opening scene and holds it throughout. If you watch Freight not expecting multi million dollar, over the top, Hollywood action and special effects, you will have an enjoyable and impacting 90 minutes

Review: This is your typical English action movie about Romanian illegal trafficking and prostitution. There isn't anything amazing about this film and the acting is pretty average. The storyline wasn't as bad as a lot of the English gangster movies out there, but it was quite predictable and not really thought out in parts. The action was OK and it wasn't full of swearing and sex like a lot of movies in this genre. In all, this movie is what I expected.

Round-Up: I don't mind Billy Murray as an actor, but he just seems to get type casted like Craig Fairbrass who always acts the same. This movie did come out a couple of years ago so it must have fit in with all of the other British gangster movies that came out. It does seem like the whole Eastern European trafficking and prostitution thing has got way out of hand because its in every other movie nowadays. It used to be the Russians that always got used as the baddies but now they have switched sides.

Budget: $2.5million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who like there British crime/thrillers about people trafficking. 2/10

Wanted to see this movie because I thought Bill Murray plays in it. It took me a while to understand that there's no Bill, but BILLY Murray. Oh, well... my first mistake. Continued watching it till the end, out of curiosity and because I had nothing else to do. My second BIG mistake.

Just say no to this. Believe me when I tell you that there are better ways to spend one and a half hour of your life. You can watch paint dry, or something. (http://www.mirimgs.com/webcam/paint.html) You've been warned.

(By the way, what does this mean: "Your review does not contain enough lines - the minimum length for reviews is 10 lines of text. Please see the guidelines. Attempts to pad the comment with junk words can result in your account being blocked from future submissions."?)

This film is a mish mash of scenarios, poorly executed. The film jumps from one scene to another in a random fashion. The whole thing looks like it was hastily put together at the last minuet. It is altogether an embarrassing advertisement for the British film industry. The characters especially the Russians/Romainians are scarcely believable.

Now I love a proper good Brit gangster flick, and the story sounded promising, the cast looked promising and the film started reasonably well. However it all quickly fell apart the acting for the most part was terrible, the direction was poor and the violence and action scenes were laughable. It was hard to connect with any of the characters that we were supposed to as they were so cardboard and the bad guys, tilt head back look down nose and spit a lot whilst talking in a comparethemeerkat.com accent does not a convincing bad guy make.

Thankfully the film wasn't that long otherwise I would have turned it off, it was like watching an expensively made college project where a couple of name actors had donated their services.

Yes i'm french ...and Yes again i also love British Cinema. Hopefully unlike the Italian author cinema the British one is still Alive ! and brings to us from time to time a real jewel : Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch , Swallow Grave, Trainspotting, Revolver,This Is England, Four lions, all the Stanley Kubrick movies etc. Off course there's too many to mention all of them.

So Far from me the will to light up an ancient rivalry or to start another 100 Years War :^)...but i am quit surprise to see that only British reviewer love that movie ( how can it be !).

The only one that i agree with is a Russian cinephile. And if you ask me i can't understand how such a bad movie script, hawfully play by mediocre acting ( and directing i guess ) can be so much positively misjudge .

As a Latin proverb says "love turns you blind !". Perhaps ..! Can't see another plausible explanation.

Watching this movie so dull was a pain for the mind. Even the "action" sequence were boring. I better not say what i think in detail of the script ! Someone says it's a kind of British "Taken" , well to me "Taken" is at best an average action movie with a predictable story. "Freight" is a lot worse than that !. Spare your money guy , rent a video, DL a movie and choose a _real_ movie.

i read some of the reviews and thought i would give this film a go,well that's 1 hour and 26 minutes i will never get back. What a load of rubbish, bad acting , no story and the worst accents i have ever heard. the bloke playing the "evil" Russian should have stayed in dream team, he is the main culprit in the accent stake, it is simply unbelievable.,billy Murray played billy Murray and as for Craig Fairbrass i am sure he is capable of better.I cannot believe this crap get released. I am sitting watching again this time with a friend of mine who would not believe me when i said how bad it was ,and it don't get any better the second time around,it is laughable in fact i think it maybe a spoof, monumentally bad

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Gabe Taylor (Billy Murray) had a shady past in the British Secret Service, but now is focused on the wedding of his daughter Julie (Laura Aikman) and the up-coming reception. Then, his world is plunged into chaos when a portaloo is stolen, and he exchanges words with Cristi (Danny Midwinter) the leader of a gang of foreign criminals involved in human trafficking from Romania. When Cristi kidnaps his daughter and tries to force her into the sex trade, Gabe engages in a merciless battle of vengeance.

On the face of it a typical, generic straight to DVD action film, Stuart St. Paul's story seems to have a genuinely human heart at it's core and seems to possess a social conscience, going to pains to highlight the human trafficking problem engulfing the UK at the moment, and how the statistics paint a grim picture. Anyone who's ever been to a seedy back street strip club might not be getting offered services that are entirely voluntary, and this certainly sets out to make them feel bad about it. Still, it goes about this in a formulaic, by the numbers way, with a cardboard, stereotypical Eastern European villain and flimsy supporting cast. But the always watchable Murray is a dynamic lead, the script is that bit more well written than usual and the attempts to highlight a social problem spreading the country are laudable and more than you'd usually get from this type of thing. ***

I felt obliged to write this review as a) the current 3.8/10 rating is too high, and b) to show that not everyone from West Yorkshire will give this a 10. I expected so much more from this but was highly disappointed with a film with very little redeeming qualities. This is ridiculously over the top and has none of the realism or even semi believability of 'Taken' or anything else you could compare this to. The amount of gun deaths is just stupid for the UK. Characters are not set up or developed and are not helped by poor acting. There is an endless supply of cannon fodder in the competing gangs - which just makes for confusing fight scenes as you don't know who is who. This has a point to make about immigration and the law in the UK which is handled quite well but it just a shame its surrounded by a film of this low calibre.

As a fan of British movies and gangster films in particular I had looked forward to seeing this and was not disappointed. Good story which is help together by decent acting and well defined characters. Great action, well directed and a film to enjoy over and over. Some films in a similar genre try too hard to thrill and excite. Freight simply builds and holds the attention. For me this has the feel of a good old fashioned British film in so much that you care about what happens next, not often the case in many of the huge big budget Hollywood epics. We have all seen films where you are willing the end to draw to a close. With Freight you want to see more and that's the mark of a great film. No hesitation in giving this 10 out of 10!

I might of given this film 3 stars, we're it not for Danny Midwinter, who, amongst a plethora of terrible performances, gives one of the most laughable shows of acting I have ever seen in my life.