Sep 5, 2008, 9:50 GMT
Sir Michael Caine is set to play a vigilante pensioner in a new film.
Michael Caine - "The Dark Knight" London Premiere - Arrivals - Odeon, Leicester Square - London, England © Solarpix / PR Photos
Caine, 75, is to take the lead role in 'Harry Brown', which sees a disillusioned old man take the law into his own hands to fight gangs.
Two-time Oscar winner Caine said: "This is a film that had to be made - and a film I had to be in."
Emily Mortimer will star alongside Caine as a murder squad detective.
'Harry Brown' will tackle the issues of knife and gun crime which has exploded in the UK over the last 12 months.
Kris Thykier of MARV films, which is backing the project, said: "Harry Brown is British to the core and he's had enough of broken Britain."
The film will be shot on a derelict housing estate just outside London which is due to be torn down.
Caine's eponymous character is being tipped to echo some of his past iconic screen roles, such as Jack Carter from 'Get Carter' or Harry Palmer from 'The Ipcress File'.
'Harry Brown' director Daniel Barber told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper: "What I want the film to look at is what it is in our society that is enabling these kids to be violent for the fun of it, and why it seems that social order has disappeared.
"Well, Harry Brown has had enough of the gangs, drugs and violence and Michael Caine is willing to help define a reality.
"He is a normal man who doesn't want to take it any more."
Filming on 'Harry Brown' is set to start soon.
The movie is scheduled for an autumn 2009 release.
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