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What are critics saying about Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man?

Cillian Murphy returns in Peaky Blinders movie trailer
Netflix

Thomas Shelby and his flat cap are back. After six seasons, the Peaky Blinders are swapping the small screen for the big screen in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,.

The film sees Cillian Murphy reprise his iconic role as protagonist Tommy Shelby, with the addition of his illegitimate son, Erasmus “Duke” Shelby (Barry Keoghan, previously played by Conrad Khan in the series).

"Amid the chaos of World War II, Tommy Shelby returns from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet. With the future of his family and country at stake, Shelby must face his demons and choose whether to confront his legacy or burn it to the ground," the plot synopsis reads.

The film sees the return of some familiar faces, including Stephen Graham (Adolescence, Boiling Point) as Hayden Stagg, Sophie Rundle (The Diplomat, Bodyguard) as Tommy’s sister Ada, and Ned Dennehy (Blitz, Guns Akimbo) as Charlie Strong.

There are also some new faces too, with the addition of Rebecca Ferguson (Dune, Mission Impossible), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, Lie to Me) and Jay Lycurgo (Last Swim, Steve).

At the end of season six, we last saw him set fire to all of his possessions, as he said goodbye to his old life.

In the film trailer, Ada warns Tommy that his son is running the gang like it’s "1919 again."

What will Tommy do?

What are critics saying?

Altogether, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man has received favourable reviews, as it currently has a critics' score of 91 per cent and an audience score of 89 per cent on the film and TV review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the film has a score of 7.9 out of 10 on IMDb and a score of 60 out of 100 on Metacritic.

"What’s worked before works here just as well. Tommy Shelby persists," said The Independent''s Clarisse Loughrey in her three-star review.

Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell said in his four-star rating, "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man avoids becoming a needless continuation of a series that already wrapped up neatly, and is instead an excellent ending to this particular chapter of the story."

"The rock soundtrack thumps along with propulsive vigour, the screen pulses with stylish slow-mo from the director Tom Harper, while the top-tier acting duo of Murphy and Keoghan bring some unexpected poignancy to an otherwise familiar Oedipal clash," The Times's Kevin Maher wrote, giving the film four stars.

The Telegraph's Chris Bennion said in his two-star review, "It has verve and swagger and real love for the time and the place. But this is Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders playing their greatest hits on what feels a little like a farewell tour. Those peaks just aren’t as razor-sharp as they used to be."

"Maybe you have to be fully invested in the TV show to really like it, although this canonisation of Tommy is a sentimental treatment of what we actually know of crime gangs in the Second World War. Nevertheless, it is a resoundingly confident drama," The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw noted in his three-star review.

When is the release date?

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man was released in cinemas on March 6.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Cillian Murphy says he has 'ROMO' over not starring in new hit film, and Tram named after Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight as fans gather for premiere.

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