So much average

Excellent but underrated film

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Cleanskin is a term referring to terrorists with a clean record and not on intelligence's radar. British secret agent Ewan (Sean Bean) is undercover as a bodyguard to an arms dealer. They are attacked by terrorists who steal a suitcase filled with Semtex explosives. Ewan's superior Charlotte (Charlotte Rampling) tells him to go off books and hunt down the Semtex. Public knowledge of losing the Semtex would be devastating to the Service. The terrorists led by Ash make suicide vests and launch a bombing campaign across London. In flashbacks, Ash is a westernized Muslim pursuing Mary who does recreational drugs. He is recruited by Nabil as he goes down the long path into terrorism.Secret agent Ewan has his moments but his story is not realistic enough to be gritty. It does have a feel of Bourne but is not at that level. That part also has an unconvincing twist in the end. I actually like Ash and Mary's half of the movie more. They are star-crossed lovers and a compelling tragic love affair. Ewan's half is not quite at the same level as other bigger thrillers.

The movie has an extremely well written script. The story does not revolve around the protagonist stopping the attacks. This allows the movie to well explore and present all the factors that lead to the events. The movie has the back-story of the attackers, their motivations, the politics around the events and innocent bystanders that get caught up in such attacks. The movie is intriguing and leaves you wondering about the depth of actions behind such attacks and the actions taken by your government. All these intertwining tales are extremely well written. The cast is well chosen and the performances delivered by the actors is quite pleasing. These storyline is well executed and makes for a near perfect movie.

"Cleanskin" is a very good film from 2012. It is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The writer and director is Hadi Hajaig. For me, Sean (aka 'Ewan') puts on a fantastic performance, in a film where I was also very impressed with Peter Polycarpou (aka 'Nabil'). The romance between Ash and Kate felt very believable, not all actors/actresses can pull this job off. It was a film that touches on a very serious subject, so for all you rom-com addicts, prob not one for you, lol! However, although a serious topic, you'll find some light hearted humor in parts of the film. Have already recommended to friends and family, purchased on DVD myself, so go and watch too if you already haven't. Overall, a great watch with some excellent action shots and twists and turns throughout. I gave it 8 stars. Dale Haufrect

"Clearskin" is an entertaining film about a burnt out secret agent (Sean Bean) tracking down Islamic terrorists who are responsible for a series of bombings in London. This plot interfaces with another more interesting story about how a bright young man Ash (Abhin Galeya) is gradually radicalized by his charismatic mentor, cleric Nabil (Peter Polycarpou). Ash eventually becomes a terrorist leader and masterminds one bombing after the other. Sean Bean does a capable job playing the secret agent, but Abhin Galeya is the actor to watch. Galeya, although not given the best of scripts, is surprisingly successful at depicting Ash as a young man with very troubling ideas and also a strong human dimension. One wonders, when seeing this film, what Galeya is capable of when given a much better script.This movie is not without drawbacks. The story about Ash's radicalization, while interesting, is also overly simplistic. The movie seems to be suggesting that Ash became radicalized because his relationship with Kate (Tuppence Middleton) did not work out. I'm sorry, but that reason does not really make any sense. The other problem with the film was its silly twist at the end, which could have been left out. "Cleanskin" plays much better as a straightforward film about a secret agent doing the often unpleasant job of killing off terrorists.