The Long Good Friday (1980)'s activity

Bob Hoskins is terrific as a London gangster trying to go straight as a real estate mogul in The Long Good Friday, and trying to drag his whole organization in with him. But this is a biting Noir, so all his associates, all his contacts, all his reflexes are all from the criminal underworld, and that's going to cause him problems. He's pushy, he's vengeful, and there is an underlying question of whether this is "straight" business after all, and he's only really being stymied by his lower-class status (it's a British film, so it has to be at least partly about class). When his men start getting bumped off in pretty spectacular ways (check out young Pierce Brosnan as a silent assassin!), he's desperate to find out why and by whom before his deal with the Americans falls through. The violence is harsh but cool. Helen Mirren is great as Hoskins' partner in love and business. The dialog is witty. And I really love that ending. So if you're looking for a Holiday fare to watch around Easter (I'm kidding, watch it any old time), The Long Good Friday is the fun'n'nasty crime picture to break your fast with.