Sick Product of a Sick System

I wanted to but couldn't!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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.

I really enjoyed this intelligent, tough, uncompromising portrayal of a British agent trying to catch a "cleanskin" (no terrorist history or connections) middle eastern young man who is recruited as a jihadist. Sean Bean does a nice portrayal of a troubled war veteran who loves his country. The other main characters are all very believable in the roles they play. It is possible to understand how a seemingly reasonable Arab leader could recruit "normal" young men into the movement and gradually progress them to suicide bombers. We see even more of this now that so many westerners have joined ISIS.The tension builds throughout this movie. You are really unsure of what exactly is going on until the very end. I enjoyed this movie as much as Arlington Road, another hidden gem of a film, which is similar in many ways.(Spoiler) I liked that the film does not make anyone either good or bad. Some, perhaps all, of the characters do horrible things but they have their reasons. And the reasons make sense.

If you enjoy touring slaughterhouses, this is your movie. Two hours of ceaseless gore and violence interspersed with unsightly people having graphic sex and women getting beaten up by macho studs. My one word review --- abomination --- sums it up its totality. The characters are thoroughly detestable, the mood is universally black and sombre, the morals and motivations of all the characters are evil and twisted. Not enough that people are stabbed to death, the scenes are needlessly gory and detailed. If this is your thing, it will be a great movie for you. But if this is your thing, you certainly have an unhealthy mind and possible dangerous latent violent tendencies. If nothing else, this dreadful, disgusting film demonstrates that Hollywood does not have the monopoly on cinematic crap!

After an unsuccessful mission when a load of explosives is stolen by the terrorists Ash (Abhin Galeya) and Paul (Tariq Jordan), the British Secret Service Agent Ewan (Sean Bean) is assigned by his superior Charlotte (Charlotte Rampling) to team-up with agent Mark (Tom Burke) and hunt down the terrorist before the elections. Ash had used a bomber in a restaurant to kill many people and Ewan has a trauma in this regard since his wife died in a terrorist attempt. Ewan track Paul and Ash down and in-between he kills a Muslim in an old building believing that he would be another terrorist. All his deadly actions are covered by Charlotte team until the day he discovers a locker key hidden inside the coat that belonged to the Muslim that he killed and he discloses a web of lies and manipulation. "Cleanskin" is a good thriller with a full of action story of terrorism and manipulation. Sean Bean is perfect in the role of an agent in disgrace that is assigned to kill the terrorists responsible for several casualties. The character Ash is very well developed in flashbacks since he was a law student, his recruitment to a terrorist cell and his training. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Cleanskin: Jogo de Interesses" ("Cleanskin": Game of Interest")