Gassed Up review – generic moped crime drama goes nowhere fast | Crime films

This is not the best week to be releasing a film that features a character spraying a corrosive liquid at the victim of a botched robbery. Although this London-based moped crime drama pointedly condemns the acid-chucker, it still, given recent events, feels horribly jarring as a plot device. The film follows Ash (Stephen Odubola) as he gets sucked into a phone-snatching crime spree, first to earn money to support his schoolgirl sister, but later as much for the jolt of adrenaline it gives him.

The story is so generic that you could be wearing a motorbike helmet back to front and you would still be able to see exactly where the film is going. But there’s a crackling, propulsive energy to the picture – film-maker George Amponsah has a highly marketable knack for crafting brash action and orchestrating two-wheeled mayhem.

This is not the best week to be releasing a film that features a character spraying a corrosive liquid at the victim of a botched robbery. Although this London-based moped crime drama pointedly condemns the acid-chucker, it still, given recent events, feels horribly jarring as a plot device. The film follows Ash (Stephen Odubola) as he gets sucked into a phone-snatching crime spree, first to earn money to support his schoolgirl sister, but later as much for the jolt of adrenaline it gives him.

The story is so generic that you could be wearing a motorbike helmet back to front and you would still be able to see exactly where the film is going. But there’s a crackling, propulsive energy to the picture – film-maker George Amponsah has a highly marketable knack for crafting brash action and orchestrating two-wheeled mayhem.