Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man: Tommy Shelby takes on the Nazis in a violent Peaky Blinders spin-off

A few dangerous moments aside, The Immortal Man leans so heavily into the World War I PTSD that afflicted Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) during six riveting seasons of Peaky Blinders (2013-2022) that its first half is dominated by ponderous melancholy. But once our Brummie folk-hero-gangster overcomes his reluctance to return to the fray – and his criminal past – in Small Heath, we’re back in furious and familiar territory. Tommy is paired with reprobate pals old and new (as well as a gloriously vicious adversary) for a film that explodes violently into life with a daring that’ll have fans hollering and newbies eager for more. 

It’s now 1940, mere months into World War II. Tommy’s reign over Birmingham is over and his wider influence has dimmed. In the wake of former glories, he attempts to write a memoir, smokes opium and stalks his dilapidated country estate. His estranged son Duke (Barry Keoghan) and his cronies scavenge a bombed munitions factory on the old manor, much to the chagrin of a local MP who happens to be Tommy’s sister Ada Thorne (Sophie Rundle, who like many in the supporting cast reprises her role from the Peaky Blinders series that spawned this spin-off film). Auntie Ada eventually warns Tommy of Duke’s troublesome activities but neither she nor Tommy knows the worst of it. Duke is working with Nazi-collaborator Beckett who aims to bankrupt the UK economy with £250 million in counterfeit cash, with Duke handling 20 per cent of it. It’s a shrewd move to have Tim Roth play villainous Beckett using his real-life south London accent in a movie – a relatively rare occurrence since the latter part of The Hateful Eight (2015).  

The Immortal Man is a tale of two aunts in some senses, with the appearance of Kaulo (the twin sister of Zelda, Duke’s dead mother) shaking Tommy out of his opioid reveries. For all the mystery of her enigmatic Romani character though, Rebecca Ferguson does seem slightly miscast here, especially for viewers familiar with her significant role in the Mission: Impossible franchise. 

Inevitably we’re led to a series of exciting, profane and brutal confrontations. Thankfully, they’re worth the wait. Alongside director Tom Harper, screenwriter and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight delivers us a pub stand-off for the ages, a mud-slinging father-son struggle and a terrific Tommy/Beckett shoot-out at a morgue way before the big dockside finish. It’s here, in Liverpool, where we meet Tommy’s old scouse pal Hayden Stagg (Stephen Graham). Much like Roth, Graham is clearly having fun using his real accent and plays a key part in this earthy, stylish story as he helps Tommy give the Nazis what for in spectacular fashion. 

 ► Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is in UK cinemas now.