Widows (15)

Occasionally, just occasionally, we manage to get off our arse and actually get to see the film we've been looking forward to for ages.

Yes, sure, it's taken forever to actually sit at a keyboard and tell you about it, but one step at a time, eh?

At least we managed to see Widows on the big screen!

And we'd been excited about this one since the trailer — which seems to have been around for AGES.

I mean, what's not to like here?

Viola Davis? Good.

Steve McQueen? Good.

Liam Neeson?

Look, two out of three's not bad.

Especially when this is a re-make of an 80s drama and Gillian Flynn is involved. (Yeah, I know, everyone loved Gone Girl but us. I get it.)

We won't deny, there was a certain amount of apprehension going in to this. There was no way it could deliver on the tight, dark, adrenaline rush of the trailer...

For the two of you at the back who have missed what this film is about, a heist goes wrong, men die, women get left to pick up the pieces, women do heist.

In just a smidge over two hours.

Boom, bang, in, out, done.

And it's as slick and fast as you want it to be.

The women — Davis,  Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and the amazing Cynthia Erivo — own every scene they are in, gelling quickly and working well together.

There are comic touches, high drama, deep emotion, and without missing a beat each and every one of them delivers.

And McQueen is clearly at the top of his game.

Yes, there's a political message to this, the state of inner cities and people's economic situations feature prominently, but this isn't a 'message' film.

The signals are there if you want, or you can just sit back and enjoy the hell out of a fantastic heist movie.

The camera work, too, is at times breathtaking.

There is a scene with two characters in a car, which travels from the rough part of town to the nice bit, and while I know there's a certain amount of geeking out on our part it was simply beautiful.

And that's what is so great about this film.

You get swept up in the story, in the drama and tension, in the action and the twists and turns — it simply grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go.

And you know how firm the grip is when there are things that should niggle but you let them go because you're enjoying everything so much.

Things like how Erivo's Belle comes to be a part of the whole thing. How two-dimensional Colin Farrell is. How utterly Neeson Liam is.

But such things matter not a jot when the whole thing has four amazing women delivering top notch performances — with Daniel Kaluuya a hair's breadth behind them, delivering a performance of pure sinister evil.

This film has Oscars written all over it — screenplay, direction, cinematography and a nomination each for the four women.

But it's more than just an awards vehicle. Widows is an edge-of-the-seat thriller the likes of which many try to make but fall so, so short.

And it's further proof that all you need to make a good film is a strong story and a talented cast.

(Oh, and cars blowing up once or twice...)