A haunted veteran seeks redemption in the gritty, nocturnal streets of modern London
In short: In his 2013 directorial debut, Steven Knight crafts a dark action thriller starring Jason Statham as a fugitive ex-Special Forces soldier. Struggling with PTSD and the ghosts of his past, he navigates the criminal underworld while attempting to find justice for a murdered friend in a city that never sleeps.
Released internationally under various titles, including Redemption in the United States and Crazy Joe in France, the film follows Joseph Smith, a homeless alcoholic living in London. After breaking into a vacant luxury apartment, he assumes the identity of the owner, Damon, to survive. His life takes a turn when he enters the orbit of a Chinese organized crime syndicate, working as a driver and enforcer. This role provides him with the resources to support a local soup kitchen and his estranged family, even as he remains haunted by hallucinations of aerial drones—the titular hummingbirds—from his service in Afghanistan.
The narrative deepens through Joseph's relationship with Sister Cristina, a Polish nun who harbors her own traumatic history of childhood abuse and a past act of lethal vengeance. Their connection serves as the emotional core of the film, contrasting their shared desire for redemption against the harsh realities of their environments. The production itself leaned into this atmosphere, filming almost exclusively at night and incorporating real homeless individuals into the shoot. Locations such as the Covent Garden Market, St Paul's, and the Royal Opera House ground the story in a recognizable, yet bleak, urban landscape.
The film's climax reveals the source of Joseph's trauma: he is a fugitive fleeing a court-martial for the revenge killings of five civilians in Afghanistan. Ultimately, he chooses to dismantle the criminal network he served, reporting the human trafficking operation to the police before vanishing back into the streets. While the film received mixed critical reception, with a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes, reviewers noted that it attempted to offer more psychological depth than the typical action vehicle. Statham’s performance was highlighted as a committed effort to portray the complexities of an ex-serviceman grappling with mental health issues, a characterization informed by research into the experiences of real veterans.
Opens the Intellect+ feed with this card first. Swipe up for the next one.
Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Hummingbird (film)
To cite this card, link to https://intellectplus.co.uk/app/entertainment-hummingbird-film.
How we source, check and correct cards: Editorial standards.
General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.
Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?
Related
More in Films · More in Entertainment · Latest · A–Z · All topics
