pollardm-45339 I only recently heard of this, and stumbled on The Real Football Factories series hosted by Danny Dyer, focusing on real football hooligan firms... Although more than 10 years old now - its a sub-culture I don't know that much about, in terms of what would motivate someone to pursue this?! This movie was referenced in the series .. so finally checked it out and was very impressed. The movie has an underground/ indie vibe and is very well acted, which really helps... It's gritty and real... I'd watch The Real Football Factory series in tandem with this movie, as they compliment each other well..

Al Wright Was torn between 9 or 10 stars, but went for 10 to balance out some of the ridiculous 1 star reviews! People commenting about there not being a clearly tied up happy ending! Good, I'm sorry but life doesn't have a clear happy ending, some of me favourite films weren't written with a clear happy ending. One of which the director was forced to change to satisfy the " but did he see his friend again" crowd, which I think was to the detriment, but anyway that's another film. Football factory, delivers exactly what it is designed to, a gritty realistic portrayal of the football hooligan lifestyle and ethos. Yes there are others out there but from what I've heard others don't come as close for accuracy. I also disagree with people who have left reviews saying there is no don't do this at home message. ZEBERDEE!!! Seriously what happened to both him and Tommythroughout , give clear decisions have consequences messages. All in all an interesting film with a clever sub plot and underlying message of men needing an army to join, realistic language, with cockney and cursing being used in a natural way without feeling forced.

Ryan Preston (ryshpr) To be honest, movies like The Football Factory aren't usually ones I enjoy. But this one really surprised me. The Football Factory is a study of the English obsession with football violence and hooliganism, but there's so much more here. It's documentary-like presentation gives the film more charm than if it was presented as just a generic movie.Although I do have to say that Danny Dyer seems to play the same character in every movie he's in (Doghouse, Severance and Mean Machine are just a few examples) you can't fault him for it because he does it well and believably. His character, Tommy Johnson, is a typical British football fan who just, as he puts it, "loves to f*cking fight".Dyer also narrates the movie, giving it that documentary vibe, making you think you're actually watching a retelling of events that have actually happened. Dyer's narration also gives his character a little more depth and does a good job of effectively separating him from the rest of the cast.The Football Factory is essentially played out as a serious approach to the issue of football hooliganism, but there's something more there. The sub-plot of Tommy's granddad and his war-time friend moving abroad together with Tommy's recurring dreams that play out like sort of Final Destination-esquire premonitions give the story that little bit more depth.The Football Factory is a hugely entertaining and funny movie that isn't exclusively for only football fans. It's nothing brilliant, but it's a pretty good watch.http://ukmore.tk/

Spikeopath I read a review of The Football Factory that said the characters are so "orrible" and "hateful" it was impossible to like them at all! You have to think that that particular reviewer knows nothing about the subject matter of the film he was writing about. Does he think that hoards of footie hooligans, who delight in knocking seven bells of tar out of each other, want to be liked?The Football Factory is directed by Nick Love and based on the book of the same name written by John King. It stars Danny Dyer {who else really?}, Frank Harper, Neil Maskell and Tamer Hassan {Hassan fans should note he's rarely in it tho}. The story is about what was termed The English Disease, a disease where like minded adults from various walks of life, religiously took to fighting like minded adults, in the name of what football team they happened to support. There's been a ream of books written on the subject, from those involved and by those who haven't a clue outside of reading their Sunday Times articles back in the day. There's also been one or two films about the subject, from pretty ace efforts like Phillip Davis' ID, to middling tellings such as Elijah Wood starrer Green Street. It's a subject that people seem hell bent on dissecting and attempting to get to the bottom of.So with that in mind, Love's movie is something of a triumph in that it tries the hardest to understand its topic. To those on the outside of football hooliganism, it looks like a bunch of blokes mindlessly inflicting harm on each other whilst simultaneously damaging the good name of the national sport. But Love, with help from King's source, explores ego led tribalism, male bonding, male conformity and dissatisfaction of life in general. Throw in the punches and a ream of genuine laughs and you got a film that is easy to like if you belong to a certain demographic. Here is the problem if you are not a geezer, a tribal footie fan or a mindless thug, The Football Factory holds no appeal to the casual observer, which is a shame, because as stated previously, it's trying hard to reason and understand. There's for instance a cracking plot-strand involving two old fella's, Tommy's {Dyer} granddad Bill {Dudley Sutton} & Albert {John Junkin}. Both lifelong pals who have grown tired of what "their" Britain has become, thus they are in the process of emigrating to Australia. This dovetails smartly with the unfolding story of football violence perpetrated by the kids of the day. Generational differences? Perhaps, maybe?The cast are strong, either fitting the mean profile perfectly {Harper/Hassan} or delivering the needed cocky swagger line {Dyer}, Love has assembled, what is for the material at hand, the perfect cast. OK we probably could have done with Vinnie Jones or Ross Kemp in there somewhere, but it's a low budget movie you know!. The fight scenes are grim and look authentic and the soundtrack rocks the large one too. So is it glamorising a touchy subject? Well yes it is, if you are a football hooligan yourself that is. It's not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but it has good intentions in there, even if not all of them are fully realised. To which it leaves us with an impacting, intriguing and uneasily enjoyable movie. 7.5/10