“He Who Dares: Downing Street Siege is a step down in quality for Paul Tanter, which is an indication of just how bad this film really is. The writing in Tanter films are notorious for being incoherent, messy affairs, with his latest effort proving the point rather definitively.”
by Nav Qateel
After failing to successfully kidnap the British Prime Minister’s daughter in He Who Dares, we follow the new exploits of bad guy Holt (Simon Phillips). Holt and his band of merry thugs try to take down the seat of British power, 10 Downing Street, so he can rob the Prime Minister … again.
He Who Dares: Downing Street Siege is the follow-up to the underwhelming He Who Dares, a film that was released only 8 months ago. Not surprisingly, prolific low-budget filmmaker Paul Tanter has managed to direct and produce at least two other titles in between. Hence, little time was left for preparation, resulting in an incoherent script, woeful choreography, uneven acting and a complete lack of authenticity.
- He Who Dares: Downing Street Siege
- Directed by
Paul Tanter - Cast
Tom Benedict Knight, Simon Phillips, Russell Kilmister - Release Date
5 January 2015 - Nav’s Grade: D-
We begin with Holt chained to a hospital bed as machine gun-toting police officers do a terrible job of guarding this extremely dangerous and ruthless killer. Holt forces a nurse to let him use her cellphone to call for help. Gunmen arrive, kill a lot of people then easily take Holt to safety.
Some months later, Holt walks into a private party where the government Chief Whip is mixing with guests. Holt kills him so he can take a plastic security card that opens up the inner sanctum of 10 Downing Street. Not only did Holt know the Chief Whip would be carrying said security card, he also knew which pocket it would be in. And being that the UK is filled with completely incompetent people, no one thought to check that the very security card that could get you into the most secure building in Britain was even missing.
Of course, there must a very good reason why Holt is going to all this trouble. Well, actually, there isn’t. He wants to steal a lot of money and thought raiding 10 Downing Street and forcing the government to shove £104 million into his personal bank account was a good idea. How he planned to get the cash safely was also pretty pathetic. For the audience’s benefit, Holt explained his plan to Cassie (played by the lovely Merissa Porter in her first movie role), the obligatory bit of B-movie eye-candy. He had 10 thousand people worldwide who would each get £10 thousand. They would go to the bank and withdraw the £10 thousand, keeping 25% for their effort. Holt would then have £75 million all to himself. Exactly how he would get his 75% cut from 10 thousand fellow criminals was never explained but I see a rather large problem with trying to get all those thieves to part with his money. Then there are the huge number of people involved in this piss-poor scheme.
He Who Dares: Downing Street Siege is a step down in quality for Paul Tanter, which is an indication of just how bad this film really is. The writing in Tanter films are notorious for being incoherent, messy affairs, with his latest effort proving the point rather definitively. This hobbled together movie looked and felt rushed, doing no one a favor, least of all the audience. If you’re partial to watching Paul Tanter’s creations then you at least know what to expect. However, if this is your first, it could well be your last.
While looking for info about the stunt where actress Merissa Porter was almost hit with the 10 Downing Street door prop, I came across this thread here. It makes for interesting reading.
