Review of Rise of the Footsoldier (2007) by Natajohnsonify . — 27 May 2009

.....ticks every box on the the British gangster movie checklist but still fails to be any where near as good as Layer Cake. I have'nt seen any of the directors other films, and this is so poor I wont be looking for them in Blockbusters.

Its not really a story but more a series of events in the main character Carlton Leach's life, which cultimate in him going from being a I.C.F. hooligan to becoming a well renouned hard case on the Essex and London scene.

About an hour and a half into to the film the focus shifts from Carlton to his friends, who were brutally murdered in a drug deal gone wrong in Rettendon. This might have been put to better use in another film instead of being tacked onto the end of someone else's story, and yes i've heard of Essex Boys.

The main problem is the huge gaps in the story which leave a lot of things unexplained, as a result the whole thing feels very rushed. The cast, which seems to be compiled from a list of everyone whos ever been an extra on The Bill (though Billy Murray Played Don Beach for a number of years), and the supporting cast of Football Factory.

Credit to Billy Murray, the little screen time he has, he is fairly impressive and easily stands out from the others, who seem to have come to the movie from acting school via the pub, and I dont mean in the way Oliver Reed used to.

I would'nt recommend this film to anyone who's not a fan a extreme violence in films because other than that, it offers very lttle else.