I watched all four episodes of The Take over two evenings as it was available in HD on Virgin On Demand. It’s the story of two cousins who are a part of the East End’s criminal network and their girlfriends.

The plot spans 10 years from 1984. I especially loved watching the fashions, hairstyles, decor, music etc change through the decade. There is a lot of violence and bad language but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. It all felt a bit like Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrels, but without the humour. The main character, Freddie Jackson, is a criminal psychopath and most of the shocking behaviour comes from him. Tom Hardy, who plays him, is incredibly menacing, though I couldn’t take him 100% seriously as he had what I think of as a comedy cockney accent. Still, I liked The Take a lot. It’s very stylish and, while the plot is very slightly ridiculous, it’s a cracking story.