As various Daleks and Cybermen can attest, Doctor Who's Mickey Smith – aka Noel Clarke – is a pretty handy shooter. His latest target? Urban angst – the overarching theme of this, his powerful directorial debut. The sequel to yob yoof drama Kidulthood, which Clarke wrote and shocked the Daily Mail with back in 2006, it follows Sam (Clarke again) as he's released from prison six years after the first film's climactic killing. Can he finally escape the mean streets of west London or will his past life drag him back in?

Apparently the crew wore t-shirts around the set proclaiming “Shoot film, not people” and it's this sincere, almost naïve, sentiment that fuels Adulthood. But luckily the film's made with a fire, passion and sense of authenticity that just
about undercuts the melodrama.

It helps that Clarke is also a very fine actor – all brood and glowering charisma. Crucially, he doesn't beg for our sympathy; Sam is a deeply flawed guy and yet you will him to escape.The excellent, Mobo soundtrack draws simple, crass comparisons to films of the Boyz N The Hood or Menace II Society ilk, but this has a strong state-of-the-nation flavour familiar to the work of another Clarke – Alan (Scum, Made In Britain). Trainspotting's Director of Photography Brian Tufano ensures the vibrant spirit is matched by spiky visuals. Even if he should have steered the young auteur away from the final baseball bat/handgun 360, it's better to be too flash than just look like an episode of The Bill.