Hoodies vs. Hooligans

I thought the trailer looked fairly good for this, so was excited to see this one. I was pretty disappointed with how it turned out. The characters seem to be very a-drift and nothing really comes together. We are left thinking a lot of questions. There is a lot of the typical hard-man action, but at the end it just looks like load of 15 year old boys fighting their Dads. We didn't rally get chance to meet any of the characters, and we stayed fairly distant from them throughout. What I did enjoy was some of the actors performances despite the broken script. It saved the film for me to an extent and made it OK to watch. Overall, nothing new here, a load of people hating another load of people that have a big fight somewhere very public at the end. But some of the performances make it watchable.

source: Hoodies vs. Hooligans

Guvnors is a predictable "what is violence?", "when do men grow up?" type movie. There is no match day aggro, any of that is just shown in brief flashbacks, so you'll be disappointed if you were looking for another The Firm or Football Factory. While we're on the subject, the violence acted out is good, well choreographed and mostly believable. No, this is a tale of an old nutcase in retirement who comes up against a rising young nutcase, so far so clichéd. We're expected to believe that one guy (played by one of Rizzle Kicks lol) who inexplicably sniffs a lot and his multiracial cartoon character pyschos can become feudal lords of a half deserted London estate. The son of our antihero is threatened by a clichéd giggling blond loony, all weird head tilting and playing with knives, so the retired Guvnors firm are rounded up and pressed into action. Are they saving their community? Participating in primal scream therapy? Mid life crisis? It's never clear, but the main catalyst is 70s songster David Essex, incredulously, flooring the sniffing gang leader in Britain's darkest pub then his later fate at the hands of our young Scarface. I cannot buy the gang, it's leader, what they actually do (who buys their drugs, nobody lives there?), the sketchy flashbacks to "something" happening in the past...but to be fair Doug Allen does a fair job portraying the bored, uptight Guvnors top boy and we also bizarrely, considering this is London, get real life old Zulus top boy Barrington Patterson in his first geezer movie appearance. Summing up - OK for a hungover morning or a sick day off work, but don't expect The Firm.

Oh another gangster flick from Britain . Anyone watching a British film from the last twenty tears must be under the impression everyone in England must be a gangster or a football hooligan in much the same way as anyone watching a 1970s movie set in New York must either be a victim of crime or the victim of a vigilante . Hopefully the English tourist board can sell England to foreign tourists but it's going to be very difficult selling a sub genre that has been done so many and too many times before . To be fair to THE GUVNORS it is a fairly engaging film for the most part A bunch of violent thugs led by Adam takes over a London estate through a reign of merciless violence . Stepping over the mark when they kill an erstwhile member of an old firm from 1980s former gang leader Mitch pulls his old crew together to take on Adam's ruthless thugs . It's a rather basic premise of old school "nice" gangsters taking on new school "bad" gangsters . Director/writer Gabe Turner has resisted the temptation of casting the usual suspects of Danny Dyer , Ray Winstone and Noel Clarke and the film works better because of this . You have to buy in to the concept that when the titular "guvnors" were young they were merely young rascals who stuck to their own . Certainly sticking to their own isn't what Adam's crew do as their portrayed as violent amoral thugs . The film asks us to take sides and you don't need any persuading as to which side to take . It also makes several good points as to how the aging process changes people I did say THE GUVNORS is an engaging film for the most part and it was chugging along very nicely . Unfortunately this sustained narrative pace doesn't seem good enough for Turner the screenwriter and adds a plot turn just over two thirds of the way through which supposedly adds another layer to the story which the film could have done without and interferes with the rest of the movie which lurches in to melodrama and cliché after this which is a pity because at least the film does try and bring something new to the table

Review: This is one of those typical East End movies about a young criminal minded gang leader who wants to make a name for himself by taking out the old mobsters who used to run his turf. I must admit, the film is quite predictable and it's nothing that we haven't seen before. Doug Allen, who plays one of the main characters as the old football Hooligan whose gone straight, gets dragged back into the Hooligan life after there old leader, played by David Essex, gets murdered. There's a couple of twists along the way but it takes some time to get going and there's a lot of unnecessary violence which goes a bit too far. Harley Sylvester, who plays the lead as the violent youth, played his part quite well and his sidekick was quite a scary looking fellow but the script wasn't that original and I did loose interest after a while. The difference between the generations and how they deal with there problems, is real in today's day to day life so I found the film more frustrating than entertaining. Average! Round-Up: If you watch Eastenders, you might remember Doug Allen from the earlier episodes as Nathan between 2001-2002. I haven't really seen him in anything else since then, but he played his part quite well, especially as this is his first leading role. The whole setting for the movie might look familiar because it's were Clockwork Orange was filmed. You also might have seen the guy who played the lead as the violent youth before, as one of the rappers in the Rizzle Kids, so he's not a stranger to performing. In this film I personally think that it's the typical UK gangstar storyline which needed some work but there are a couple of twists that make it slightly interesting. I recommend this movie to people who are into their UK drama/violent movies about a   football hooligan whose gone straight but gets dragged back into his old lifestyle after the leader of his old squad gets murdered. 3/10

The Guvnors is yet another British film based on street gangs. It is a tale of two different generations, the older guys who have all moved on from their past and the younger guys. Trouble starts when the old boy who is associated with 'The Guvnors', is murdered. The film is set in London and the atmosphere on the streets is very grim. The film develops at a steady pace and we see different sides to both of the main characters which adds a bit of realism, rather than just watching 90 minutes of mindless violence without fully knowing the characters and their motives. There is an unexpected twist towards the end of the film. I felt it was a good twist so when the film approached the finale there was plenty of possibilities. I felt it was a great acting debut by Harley from Rizzle Kicks and I certainly hope to see him in a few more films soon. The film also boasted a very good soundtrack throughout. 8/10 - would recommend but only if you like the genre.

I watched it because it was a "Netflix Feature" and the football hooligan genre kind of appealed as the last movie I watched along those lines was I.D. with Philip Glenister and Warren Clarke - a very good if slightly disturbing film. The Governors had wooden acting coupled with a flimsy plot - and the mandatory twist seemed like it had been thrown in at the 11th hour and was at best far-fetched. If you're drunk and can stay awake long enough, you may find some of the ill-choreographed fight scenes mildly entertaining, otherwise it's a firm NO from me. Another hour and a half of my life I'll never get back!

None of the thugs in this film, not the old ones nor the young strapping ones, would last five minutes with any of the street gangs in the U.S. Their aristocratic British legacy infuses their conduct; that is, they are not as brutal as they pretend to me. Any gang in America would spit chew up these chumps and spit them out like waste. That said, those British blokes do try their best with whatever weapons they do have on hand - constant spitting, gangsta posturing, bricks and bottles, and maybe the occasional knife or gun. Still, in light of how gangs really operate around the world, these chaps are weak, made immasculine by British mores. They may as well had been slapping each other with white gloves for all the violence portrayed herein. It was cute, though.

This was decent apart from the main bad guy sniffing the whole way through, simply annoying, didn't add to his character, kept having to turn the tv down when he was involved in quiet scenes.

Americans won't understand the references to the troubled 80's and the main character who was a skinhead frustrated rebel who created quite a bit of trouble, but ended up just a successful gay businessman. The action takes place in a neighborhood embattled by the ghost history of the old versus the physical brutality of the youth. Simple plot really, but the sidetexts of violence begets violence through the generations, through genetics, and through entrenched poverty make this movie break away and become entertaining and contain more depth than a simple gang-turf warfare meaningless bit of film-making. While not perfect, I make it out to be a fine example of its genre, something not intended to be Oscar worthy, but still gripping, entertaining, and worth some popcorn.