South Armagh, 1975, in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. IRA paramilitary Michael (Colin Morgan) is on the run from British forces but risks everything to be with his pregnant wife when she goes into labour. However, the Brits have been tipped off, and in the ensuing ambush, Michael’s wife is accidentally shot dead by Tempest (Aml Ameen).

The resulting feud between the ruthless IRA terrorist and the marksman who killed his wife will prove to be something of a challenge for audience members who prefer to have at least one sympathetic character to latch on to. This crude thriller unfolds against a Grand Theft Auto-style version of 1970s London, with streets strewn with piles of abandoned three-piece suites, oil drums burning on every corner, and turd-brown Ford Cortinas pulling handbrake turns whenever the plot flags.

Mark Strong makes a satisfyingly slippery impression as Tempest’s nefarious new boss, the head of a Met police special anti-terrorist squad; elsewhere, the characters are underwritten and the performances underpowered.

• Dead Shot is available on Sky Cinema