--- title: "The Hard Stop: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-hard-stop/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-hard-stop" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Hard Stop (2016): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics come away respecting The Hard Stop, and their praise gathers in one place: the time it spends with Marcus and Kurtis, Mark Duggan’s two friends. The reviews call the film unflinching and humane, and credit its access to the estate for the kind of detail the news coverage never gave. Several note the pair are hard to reduce to stereotypes, and that watching them try to change their lives is where the film is strongest. The archive footage and the historical context are also well received. The reservations are about what is left out. More than one review notes the police side is thin, and Variety points out that there are almost no women on screen. The Evening Standard finds no new angle on the death itself. The spread is otherwise narrow, with one outlier: The Guardian admires the anger and the context but faults the film for omitting reporting that casts the police operation in a different light. ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 11 July 2016. Calhoun presents the documentary as a hard-hitting, bleak examination of the fallout from Mark Duggan’s police killing. The review singles out the killing’s continuing impact as the film’s central force. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-hard-stop) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 11 July 2016. Parkinson finds the documentary unflinching and valuable for offering a distinctive perspective on a notorious case. He particularly praises its access to Duggan’s friends and the human insight they bring to life on the estate. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/hard-stop-review/) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2016. O’Sullivan finds the documentary’s exploration of Duggan’s friends and their lives a precious, nuanced perspective. She notes that it offers no fresh angle on the events of Duggan’s death, but praises Marcus and Kurtis as compelling and difficult to reduce to stereotypes. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-hard-stop-film-review-mark-duggan-documentary-tells-of-fear-and-loathing-in-n17-a3296931.html) ## Sight and Sound — Ros Cranston Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 July 2016. Cranston finds the documentary powerful, timely and empathetic. She particularly praises its stylish use of archival footage alongside interviews that foreground Marcus and Kurtis’s efforts to change their lives. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-hard-stop) ## Variety — Catherine Bray Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 29 October 2015. Festival review. Bray finds the documentary humane and compassionate, offering context rather than rushing to judgment. She praises its insightful character study of Duggan’s friends, while noting the lack of female perspectives. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/the-hard-stop-review-1201629951/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 14 July 2016. Bradshaw finds the documentary bitterly sad and angry, placing Duggan’s death within a continuing cycle of violence and resentment. He praises its grim historical context but faults it for omitting reporting that casts the police operation in a different light. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/14/the-hard-stop-review-documentary-mark-duggan-london-riots) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The review finds the documentary timely and compelling, especially when it focuses on the lives of Duggan’s two friends. It praises their openness and the film’s portrayal of how his death shaped them, while noting the limited police perspective. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-hard-stop-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-hard-stop.md