The Intent Review: A Film For Fans Of The Genre And Stars

Directors: Femi Oyeniran and Kalvadour Peterson 
Cast: Dylan Duffus, Scorcher, Femi Oyeniran, Shone Romulus
Running Time: 101 mins
Rating: 15
Release Date: 29th July

An undercover officer gets too involved with a London gang who have recently been involved in a string of murderous burglaries. His loyalties are tested when he becomes more and more embedded in his role within the gang.

The Intent is a film that will be highly anticipated by a lot of people, particularly fans of the many rappers who make appearances in it. Musicians acting rarely provide anything but a laughable performance, but every single performance in The Intent is either good or simply good enough. There is no one person who lets down this ensemble cast.

A group of small-time criminals get together and decide to rob a corner shop because they hear it contains a lot of cash. This inspires them to continue on a robbery spree, murdering several people along the way. They form The T.I.C. and quickly become one of the leading gangs in London thanks to the vast sums of money they are able to rob and their ability to leave virtually no evidence behind. An undercover officer with the nickname Gunz becomes seduced by the life of crime and finds himself torn between his morals and his desires. 

Unfortunately, the plot is something fans of gangster films will have seen before. The story of an undercover officer who begins to feel more loyal to the gang than his co-workers is an interesting twist on this well-known situation, but it is not enough to make The Intent stand out. After a while, it feels like we are just going through the motions – this is the scene where one gang member goes too far and kills someone, this is the scene where a member’s girlfriend is trying desperately to convince him to get out of the life, this is the obligatory montage of criminals enjoying the profits of their crimes. 

There is a rival gang who provide some threat to The T.I.C. but not enough to make you feel as if there are real stakes at play. There are no likable characters here, which is admirable. The film focuses a lot on characters such as Hoodz (Scorcher), who proves to be a formidable and morally bankrupt person numerous times. There’s no respite for the audience in a character who has genuine good intentions, with the exception of a few scenes with Mitch (Femi Oyeniran) who quickly turns to Jesus after witnessing a murder. 

Overall, The Intent is a somewhat entertaining film for those who are fans of films such as Kidulthood and Adulthood as many of the people involved in this production were also involved with that series. There’s nothing new or unique to this film, it is simply fine and will do well with those who are already fans of the genre and stars. 

Verdict

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