Fantastic!

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Like The Wire, this shows purports to show us the real-life down and dirty live of London - again. How many depressing films must we see about the endless housing projects of London, Ireland, Scotland? Story after story on how Brits lie around on welfare while the kids run amuck; parents - any adult - is corruptible towards children too. Nary a decent role model in sight. And of course, these are predominately black people or some other "minority" who were are told (even though some obviously have decent families) that they are society's outcasts in need of a father figure which they get where - the gang!!!Spike Lee and countless others have told the story - the "new" and continuing "Boys n the Hood." It is all very sleazy. And the boys wear their trousers saggy but every effort is made to portray them as heterosexual. Even setting them up with hookers. What a laugh.The players make stupid mistake after stupid mistake in judgment. I caught this on NetFlix and made it to Season 2. The shark-jumping episode with DuShane and his lawyer made me shut off the set. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever. I do not even care what happened next. Just overall, a very depressing show.

It would be nice to live in a universe where the vast majority of decent people got the leading parts in life as well as in media. This production is not of any ideal universe, but its production values are decent. The acting is pretty flat. The writing is shallow and predictable. Sharon Duncan-Brewster stands out as a person struggling with mental illness and advocating for a son who is barely skating on the line between thug and decent person. Her representation of Lisa avoided stereotype and cliché. Nicholas Pinnock, who played Leon, also managed to portray a character torn between worlds with more than one dimension. As for the criminal class, they handed in their usual. Ashley Waters mastered the far-off stare in lieu of a better script for his part. Kane Robinson as Sully was suitably doltish and brutal. I would not rush back to the series on Netflix. It is time we got better stories about the minority experience which did not involve drugs and crime as the central themes.

I watched all 4 episodes in one night. That's not usual for me and is a sign of the quality of this series. It's got a great central plot and builds tension to the big events as good as any Hollywood film, maybe better! The characters are interesting, although sometimes it does go a bit Sopranos...Anyway I tried to get into the Wire (which has some comparisons), but as someone living in London I loved this so much more. This will no doubt get re-made in the US within no time with Ice Cube playing Dushane. I don't care really as long as the keep making Top Boy here in London. Can't wait for series 2 and onwards!

Drama set in London about two friends and their gang trying to get rich the only way they know how; selling drugs. The cast is a mix of actors and grime artists such as Kano and Scorcher all of whom are from gang London so they know how the character should be therefore giving their characters true realism. The shows gives an inside look into London gang lifestyle on the estates of London and how kids become 'shotters' for the more notorious people on the estates. Each episode of Top Boy has a gripping storyline which keeps you wanting more; one millions viewers for a urban C4 show cannot be wrong. Not only is the acting good, but the soundtrack is phenomenal, showcasing a lot of London grime artists.