In 1974, Michael Winner directed Charles Bronson in the controversial film Death Wish. Bronson played an architect who takes the law into his own hands when his wife is murdered by a gang. This debut then by director Daniel Barber is, to all intents and purposes, a remake.

Michael Caine is Harry Brown – well, that’s what the opening credits declare at any rate. Brown is a pensioner, living in a run-down block of flats in old London town. In his youth he was a marine, but these days he’s just happy playing chess with his old friend Leonard (David Bradley) in his local pub.

Now, do I bleedin' look like a Dr Who villain?

Harry’s world soon crumbles around him though; not only does he have to come to terms with his wife’s death, but also deal with the fact that Leonard is brutally murdered by a gang of youths. His death pushes Harry over the edge, turning him into an aging vigilante, out for revenge.

Barber’s London isn’t a friendly one. It is constantly drab and grey, devoid of any colour, or hope for that matter. In his eyes the capital is so violent, even the sun is seemingly too scared to make an appearance.

Brown could have quite easily become a Rambo-esque character, parkour-ing through the estate and slitting the throats of gang members with a butter knife, while waiting for the lifts to turn up. Thankfully though, Barber keeps Harry’s character firmly rooted in the realms of reality. He suffers from emphysema, which means that his days of running are way behind him. He doesn’t do anything too far beyond what you would expect a pensioner would be capable of doing – one with marine training that is.

The film falls flat with its representation of the police. For one thing, Emily Mortimer is simply not believable as a high-ranking officer in the force. She may have scraped by as a well-meaning lawyer perhaps, but simply doesn’t have the acting weight to carry off this particular role. It needed an actress with a certain gravitas; similar to that Helen Mirren provided as the ballsy Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect TV dramas.

Its main saving grace is undoubtedly Caine’s superb performance. When he’s on screen, you simply can’t take your eyes off of him. He has that rare ability of being able to tell an audience a lot about his character in just the odd expression or two. He also brings a truth to the role; he may be of a certain age, but everything Brown does, he does convincingly. This is due more than anything to the vulnerability that Caine injects into the role.

In fact without Caine’s appearance, the film would have felt more like an 18 version of an episode of The Bill. That said, kudos has to be given to Sean Harris who plays lowlife Stretch; he may well only share one scene with Caine, but he more than holds his own, in what is a mesmerising performance.

Barber does well in creating a violent, bleak society; however, it’s just a shame that it couldn’t have been more original. Some may say its lazy to compare a film with other titles, but if you saw this one in a line up, next to Death Wish, or even the more recent Gran Torino, and you swore blind you couldn’t tell them apart, then it’s completely justifiable.

Still, if you needed only one reason to see this film, then that would be Michael Caine. His performance alone is worth the price of admission.