adonis98-743-186503
The life of career criminal Carlton Leach. Rise of the Footsoldier is 98% Sex, Bad Language and Drugs alongside alot of people getting punched in the nose. The acting is horrible, the characters are terrible and i didn't feel anything regarding anyone and the film has this Ritchie vibe that it tries to achieve and it fails when on the same time it tries to become the Next 'Departed' or something along those lines and it fails hard on all levels that a good biography needs to have. (0/10)
Claudio Carvalho
"Rise of the Footsoldier" is a violent and very realistic British movie that shows the story of the British scum Carlton Leach (Ricci Harnett), who was a bully hooligan of a gang in soccer stadiums in the 70's and 80's and his rise to the position of one of the most feared gangsters on the streets of London and Essex in the 90's.Julian Gilbey made a realistic movie that is many moments seem to be a documentary, with stunning performances of the cast. However, criminals like Carlton Leach, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate are the scum of the society that should be forgotten indeed. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Guerra entre Gangues" ("War between Gangs")
t_atzmueller
Reading all those devastating reviews (or shall we say, predominently devastating) about this movie, I have to break a lance for „Rise of the Footsoldier". Sure, this movie isn't for everyone. For example, if films like "Fried Green Tomatoes" or "The Hours" are among your favourites and if you're more of a Wim Wenders- / Sergei Eistenstein-type, well, this might not exactly be your kind of film. Same goes if you're not into violence or cussing.However, there are other types: those who don't mind the violence- and cussing-bits. Quiet the opposite.True enough, the direction is no masterwork and the story often disjointed, always fearful of loosing a moment of violence and mayhem. But it's the characters, which make the film interesting: Ricci Harnett is a suitable, shark-like 'protagonist', one cannot help but admire the tenacity with which Terry Stone spews out obscenities and violence at an equal measure and, again, if you're not the type who enjoys Craig Fairbrass cutting up a pizza-boy with a pizza-cutter (cussing all the while), well, this movie wasn't made for you. Special mention should go to Frank Harper, who, despite only making a short appearance, is brilliant as ever and makes a spin-chilling murderous psychopath. Never was an actor more cut out to play hooligans, brutes and thugs.Did I mention that the movie is violent? Very, very violent. The violence in "Rise of the Footsoldier" keeps a fine balance between exaggerated-, comic-book gore and realistic brutality, heading to the level of 'exploitive', but, as said, the film never pretends to be a moral play or romantic comedy.Lingual-wise, the better part of the dialogue – the one that's not about committing crimes, taking drugs or beating up people – is reserved for two words. IMDb etiquette won't allow me to post the full context but that this review and add at least one "FAK" and one "KANT" to each sentence; you'll get the picture. I must also admit, although I'm not a native English-speaker, I generally have no troubles watching films in English – with a few exception; among those exceptions it "Rise of the Footsoldier", which forced me to turn on the subtitles. Wouldn't want to miss one of the verbal obscenities, would you?Definitely one of the better British gangster and hooligan films; I give it 7 FAKIN points out of 10 points, KANT.By the way, "Bounded by Blood", after "The Essex Boys" and "Rise of the Footsoldier", the third re-telling of the Rettendon Range Rover murders, should be thoroughly avoided by people who enjoyed this film, especially since it has been billed as "Footsoldier 2" in some countries. Despite a similar cast and storyline, that movie was a real zero-pointer.
wgee21
Coming from Essex myself and also coming from very similar situations and people,i thought the film was quite genuinely acted.A very underrated film by a selection of people. Told from the perspective of Carlton Leach,they obviously hammed it up a little in places,but these weren't pleasant people if they didn't like you.All in all i think this is in ways better than Lock Stock as it was based on true events.Good performances from Ricci Harnett,Terry Stone,Craig Fairbrass and Billy Murray,who actually had the Kray twins pay for him to go to acting school,as they liked his manner.You learn something new everyday huh?
