What I remember most about GANGSTER NO 1 on its initial release was the critics mentioning the amount of violence shown ( Channel 4 also pointed out the "disturbing" content before the broadcast last night ) but I don`t really see what the problem is . I agree it`s a violent picture but at least the subject matter is treated very seriously with the deadly violence seen from the victim`s point of view for a change . The people who have a problem with this movie are the same people who have a problem with porn movies , honestly you`d think they`d never seen nine people in love before<br /><br />!!!!! SPOILERS !!!! <br /><br />If I have a problem with GANGSTER NO 1 it`s to do with the script , frankly it`s very dumb in places like Freddy Mays being convicted of the murder of Lenny Taylor . If Mays is lying in hospital in a critical condition why would he be a suspect ? The forensics would prove what time he died making it impossible for Mays to be a suspect . And the bare bones of the story seems to steal a massive amount from ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA though the screenplay does remain somewhat underdeveloped <br /><br />As director Paul McGuigan can also be accussed of being heavily influenced by Scorsese but that can be forgiven as the direction is the best thing about the movie with nice little flourishes like the reflection of a man falling from a high rise block of flats in a car windscreen , and there`s the aforementioned scene of a torture victim . If I have a problem with any of the technical aspects it`s the sound mix with background noise drowning out the dialogue in some scenes , but there`s a good cast on show here with Paul Bettany especially good <br /><br />But GANGSTER NO 1 is a fairly good - Though uneven - British thriller that owes very little if anything to Guy Ritchie . It`s such a pity the story wasn`t a little bit stronger and that the lily livered critics didn`t state the movie`s strong points