![]() ![]() |
This article's content is marked as Mature Protagonists (Outlaw) contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
The protagonists of the 2007 film Outlaw are Danny Bryant (played by Sean Bean), Gene Dekker (Danny Dyer), Cedric Munroe (Lennie James), Simon Hillier (Sean Harris), Sandy Mardell (Rupert Friend), and Walter Lewis (Bob Hoskins).
History[]
Nice guy white-collar worker Gene Dekker is pursued and beaten nearly to death by a group of chavs while on the way to his wedding, and he later catches up to them with a pistol in his hand. However, unable to shoot, one of the chavs takes his gun and shoots him, and he is seen waking up next to his fiancée, revealing that it was a nightmare. A while later, as he is driving his car, he is approached by the same chavs, unnerving him and causing him to drive off, but he collides with another car, and the two men in the car get out and beat Dekker.
Meanwhile, paratrooper Danny Bryant has returned to England after fighting in the Falklands War, Afghanistan War, and Iraq War. However, when he returns to his house and finds that the locks have been changed, he looks through the window and sees his woman with another man. In shock, he leaves, only to be insulted and harassed by chavs in the street, who quickly back off when he challenges them. He soon begins to believe that the state of his home country is worse than the war-torn countries that he has recently served in.
Meanwhile, Crown Court prosecution barrister Cedric Munroe receives death threats towards his pregnant wife, being told that they will only be safe if he pulls out of the case against Terry Manning, who is a club owner, heroin dealer, and a boss of the criminal underworld, who Munroe is currently prosecuting. Uni student Sandy Mardell, the son of Bryant's former commanding officer, has only recently left hospital, though the thugs who scarred him for life in an unprovoked physical attack were released from prison before making his recovery.
Simon Hillier, a jingoistic hotel security guard and former football hooligan, has a connection to the three men in one form or another: Dekker had gone to school with him, Munroe had previously defended him in court, and Bryant stays in the hotel where he works. The men form a vigilante group, targeting people whom they deem a threat to society. Information on said targets is provided to them by Munroe's police contact Walter Lewis, one of the few police officers who is not corrupt and has been demoted to work behind a desk by his superiors.
The men work through targets associated with Manning, whose men went ahead with their threat against Munroe's pregnant wife by invading her home and stabbing her in the belly, killing her and their unborn child. The men use firearms that Bryant had stolen from active duty with the army. The gang soon attract media attention and become known as the "Outlaws", but get themselves into trouble when they reveal their identities to one of Manning's men, Ian Furlong, yet fail to kill him, since Munroe had convinced Bryant that he was the wrong man.
As a result, Furlong finds Lewis in his home and kills him. Bryant is subsequently framed for the murder. Following this, the gang go their separate ways, though not before Bryant hangs and kneecaps Hillier for being a liability, questioning his authority, and insulting his wife. As they all go back to their day-to-day lives, Manning is released from custody due to lack of prosecution. Bryant confronts Furlong in a pub bathroom regarding Manning's location, before shooting Furlong in the head. Dekker soon receives word from his friend and colleague Frank Lordish.
Frank learned from his brother that Manning is hiding in the countryside. Dekker realises that he cannot live a quiet life while letting Manning get away, so he flees his wedding to contact Munroe. They contact Mardell, who - after meeting up with Bryant - abandons the group when he decides that they will not survive the attack on Manning's home. The other three infiltrate Manning's home, but quickly discover that it is an ambush, with armed police soon arriving outside, led by the corrupt Sergeant Grieves of the Flying Squad, who is in league with Manning.
The trio engage in a gunfight with the police and manage to flee into the woods for one final showdown. Dekker falls when he is shot in the shoulder, and Bryant is soon shot several times in the chest while advancing towards the armed response squad and shooting at them. Munroe willingly surrenders, only to be murdered by the now blatantly corrupt police officers. When it appears that all three vigilantes are dead, Dekker is revealed to have been playing dead when he quickly gets up and sprints out of the forest, all while managing to dodge gunshots as he escapes.
Later, Frank is handed an envelope of cash by Manning in his workplace's car park. As Manning begins to drive away, he is abruptly confronted by Dekker, who points a pistol directly at Manning's face, but Manning taunts Dekker by saying he has not "got the bollocks". Dekker smiles menacingly before pulling the trigger.