Spencercollins the best of the "Essex boys" mini genre by far. the violence that keeps getting reviewed as over the top on here is nothing but necessary to the plot. we need to remember the reign of terror went on for many years until it finally concluded in the boys death. this needed to be compressed in to an hour and a half, therefore, it needed to depict how violent these guys were. Craig fairbrass, despite what I keep reading on here, played an amazing pat Tate with natural screen presence and menace. I am not a fan of terry stone usually but thought he to played tucker well, just the odd lapse in good acting. and I enjoyed watching Roland play Craig Rolfe too. very well cast. all in all I think this was one of our best modern day films in this genre to date. I recommend anyone with a taste for violence and crime in their movies to watch this film. you wont regret it

bowmanblue Rise of the Footsoldier is an interesting box of tricks. Some people describe it as 'Britain's attempt at Goodfellas.' However, I couldn't see that much in common with the American classic. Yes, Footsoldier is about gangsters, but, despite being a 'firm' they never came across as that organised in the way the American 'Mafia' seems to be portrayed on film.The film is apparently based on a true story. This is slightly open to interpretation as, in real life, the 'truth' is still being debated. In 1995, three gang members were gunned down in a Range Rover in Essex. Footsoldier attempts to explain the motivations behind the murders. It's about Carlton Leach, a small time football hooligan in the early eighties, who works his way up to doorman. Yes, that doesn't sound that much of a 'rise' but he also gets involved in some drug operations which elevate his status as an 'enforcer.' However, the story (spanning nearly two) hours, sort of leaves Carlton at about the hour mark and goes off to tell the tale of the three gangsters who will later be killed. This seems to have split audiences. Granted Leach was an unlikeable character (in fact, you may find it hard to find ANYONE in this film who you actually like), but at least he was the 'hero' (or antihero possibly). The change of direction is sort of jarring and it put me off a bit on my first watch (I'm reviewing it on my second viewing for the record).Perhaps Footsoldier is best looked at as a film of two halves. The first half sets up the scene, depicting how the underworld works in and around London, then we see what *might* happen to the three gangsters.Rise of the Footsoldier is certainly not for everyone. It is extremely violent and bloody. Plus there isn't even any real humour to speak of (ala Lock Stock and Snatch). Our 'hero' regular beats up people, including his own wife, leaving little sympathy for his plight. However, I still found it an interesting watch. I don't know how much of it is real. Yes, it is BASED on real events, but I got the impression that a fair amount of artistic licence had been taken with the film.If you have a strong stomach and you like British gangster films, you may like this. Special mention to Craig Fairbrass for portraying a particularly nasty villain - Joe Pesci, you have just met your British counterpart.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

donmunk321 I really don't understand why there is so much hate on this film , I mean each to his own, fair enough it may not be your cup of tea but I think it's really good. The true story alone is interesting enough and this is just well made, very enjoyable to watch and you get a real taste of the kind of lives the characters were living, I have not read the book yet and I do not expect this film to be a 100% accurate and neither do I expect the book, films of true events rarely are and there are different books with different views on the truth to complicate things further, but overall I thought this was a great movie. I would say one of the best British gangster films I have seen in awhile. Well acted, everyone played their roles perfectly. You could really picture Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe actually being like that in real life. Carlton Leech seemed pretty spot on as well, I mean some of his lines did seem a bit cheesy but he also had some great lines, "He looks like the *beep* honey monster", but overall he was played well, especially with the steroid side, you can see the negative effects. I also love the pill scene, that makes me laugh every time. Fight scenes were entertaining and well done, not too Hollywood and not too fake looking either, nice and gritty. Soundtrack matched the feel of the film well, especially the "break- down" towards the end. Well directed and just entertaining and interesting. Lots of people saying only a low life can enjoy this or you to be a psychopath to enjoy this movie is a bit judgemental really. People complaining about too much violence in the film? It's about the criminal underworld, gangsters and hooligans, what did you expect Bridget Jones Diary? I don't think they over used the violence, every bit ties in within the story and building up the characters. What do you believe in real life Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Carlton Leech just had pillow fights? ICF were known tickling each other? Of course there is going to be a lot of violence, that's the life they lived.

matthewwalker50 Rise of the footsoldier opens up depicting the life of Carlton Leach. A feared gangster throughout south east London. This story shows his rise to power & dominance of being in a feared Gangster crew and the leader of football hooliganism. Ricci Harnet is far more convincing in his acting & performance than his role as Corporal Mitchell in 28 Days Later. Carlton Leach is shown as a very young man at the opening of the Movie. Ricci Harnet does a good job narrating throughout. Although It's narrating is not (In my opinion) on the level of Pesci & De Niro's narrative skills in Casino, or Ray Liotta in Goodfellas. I must forewarn anyone who is keen on watching this that there is an exceptional level of profanity that is uttered at a constant rate. With 390 F-Words (according to celebrityfword.com) and probably nearly 100 C-Words in 114 minutes, I very strongly advise anybody with sensitivity to filthy language to steer well clear of this film. There are torturous and brutal, violent scenes in this movie. An extremely graphic depiction of drugs including cocaine, anabolic steroids, heroine, & ecstasy. There is one extremely graphic rape scene with drugs implied into the scene. There is sexual activity in a car with bare breasts, & brief scenes of sexual intercourse with both a woman & man completely naked. Penetration is shown. Gory, violent scenes include a quite brutal train fight ignited by football hooliganism between West Ham United & Millwall. A man gets an axe in his head and bleeds severely to the point of near loss of consciousness. He is afterwards seen having the large wound stitched up. There is a hooligan riot with bricks, fire, Molotov's, fists & feet all used as weapons. There is a very disturbing scene were a man is literally nailed into the ground from head to toe. Defenceless & unable to move, is left to suffer horribly & die. His blood is transfered onto a wall used as text which Carlton wrote in red "This is what happens to thieves" There is a Land rover murder shown 2-3 times with a lot of blood. Men are injected with poison and vomit, choke, & die from suffocation. And finally a torture scene where men have the teeth physically ripped out with pliers very hard. Bags are smothered over mens heads, this is probably the most intense torture scene in the whole movie. It is very gritty & tense. Julien Gilbey's definitive best directed film by some long way. It's crazy & relentless, shocking & entertaining. Ultimately it is a British Gangster film that is one of the best MOB films I've ever seen come from England. Don't miss it! I give it a HUGE 9/10! Great movie.