Formula 51

2001

Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller

32
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 59% · 100 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 59% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.3/10 10 52468 52.5K

liverpool northern england chase gangster chemical liverpool, england

Plot summary

An American master chemist plans to score big on a once in a lifetime drug deal. All does not go as planned and he is soon entangled in a web of deceit.

Director

Ronny Yu Photo
Ronny Yu

Top cast

Samuel L. Jackson Photo
Samuel L. Jackson as Elmo McElroy
Jake Abraham Photo
Jake Abraham as Konokko
Sean Pertwee Photo
Sean Pertwee as Detective Virgil Kane
Robert Fyfe Photo
Robert Fyfe as Hector Dougal McElroy
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
785.64 MB
1280*544
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 1
1.48 GB
1920*816
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 23

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by grahamdavidhughes 7 / 10

Pulp fiction meets Brookside! Joy!

OK, so the `what' British film industry needs another gangster-flick about as much as Zsa-Zsa Gabor needs another facelift, but this film is worth a look just for the fact that it's not set in London (hurrah!), it's very funny and it features Samuel L. Jackson in a kilt. Coming from Liverpool myself, I loved the fact that someone has taken the effort to make a decent film about my city (the last film set in Liverpool was ‘Beneath the Skin' – shoe-gazing rubbish with Samantha Morton, who couldn't act her way out of a wet paper bag). Energetically directed by Yu, with flamboyant performances by Carlyle, Ifans et al. 51st State is difficult not to enjoy. Okay, so it's not very deep and meaningful, and the plot may have been done a thousand times before, but that could just about describe almost every film that Hollywood has churned out this year. With film, as with any other entertainment medium, it ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it.Moaning about the ‘dodgy' accents or the depiction of Liverpool as a haven for drug dealers and corrupt policemen is pointless nit-picking and should not detract from the fact that 51st State is a lively, refreshing and ultimately entertaining two hours worth of celluloid. It is also a damn sight better than all the British-films-not-made-by-Working-Title that have been released this year.
Reviewed by callaway76 6 / 10

Best Quentin Ritchie Spin-off ever

It's easy for any of us to resemble the 'comic book guy' from the Simpson's and rant for days about this belated release mimicking the action/comedies of the last decade. Don't. This is not 'Get Shorty' nor 'Who is Cletis Tout?'.Plot: A unfortunate jinx leads a chemist to an underground drug world. With clever calculations at foot and in mind, he devises an intricate plan for early retirement. Then Liverpool happens. Granted, the first time I watched it seemed like a product from a 'Quentin Tarantino' screen writing class. Upon watching a few more times it becomes clearer that there is no other fault. Had this movie arrived before such 'Res Dogs' type movies it may have been the golden boy of this new genre (not-likely). But it still stands as a light-weight contender. The situations are cleverly drawn, the acting is very comical and the casting is on the money. The fast drawn shots keep the pace, the thunderous soundtrack imports the ambiance, and the British ghetto lingo always reels you in to the lovely slums of Liverpool.Bottom Line: Better Title 'An American Drug Dealer in Liverpool'
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