The Football Factory (2004)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Before he joined EastEnders, I knew the sweary cockney actor for films like Human Traffic and Severance, and of course his many straight-to-DVD releases, EastEnders has given him the opportunity to get away from his usual hard man character, when it comes to his film career, this is the film most people know him for, directed by Nick Lowe (The Business, The Sweeney). Basically Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer) is a member of a Chelsea hooligan firm, his friends and fellow hooligans are his best friend Rod King (Neil Maskell), hot- tempered Billy Bright (Frank Harper), and young and impulsive members Zeberdee (Roland Manookian) and Raf (Calum MacNab). Tommy's pensioner and veteran grandfather Bill Farrell (EastEnders' Dudley Sutton) is disappointed as Tommy spends his days drinking, using drugs, womanising and fighting, Bill plans to move to Australia with his best friend Albert (John Junkin). Tommy has an epiphany about his lifestyle during a fight with the Tottenham hooligan firm, Tommy, Billy and Rod are arrested for assaulting two Stoke City fans, Chelsea firm leader Harris (Tony Denham) is furious by these actions, especially by Billy's aggressive outbursts. Other things going on include Rod beginning a relationship with court clerk Tamara (Sophie Linfield), she pressures him to skip his weekend meets, and Billy's house being accidentally robbed by Zeberdee and his friend Raff, Billy himself deals with increased loneliness overhearing his irrelevance to Harris, and Bill's friend Albert dies the night before they are due to leave for Australia. Tommy is caught and held hostage by the brother of a girl he picked up at a club, Shian (Michele Hallak), Rod saves him, hitting the man on the head with a cricket bat, the brother turns out also be the brother of the rival Millwall firm's leader, Fred (Tamer Hassan), who is hunting Tommy down. Throughout the various characters encounter a racist taxi driver (EastEnders' Jamie Foreman), this is a subplot recurring. All the fighting culminates in a battle between the Chelsea and Millwall firms, with Tommy severely beaten up, ending up in hospital with Bill who has suffered a heart attack. In the end Tommy remains with the firm, Bill moves to Australia, Billy Bright is imprisoned for seven years, Zeberdee is killed by a drug dealer, this was a dream that Tommy kept being tormented by. Also starring EastEnders' Kara Tointon as Tameka. Dyer as the leading star and narrator certainly serves his purpose as a low-life football hooligan, the other actors do their parts fine as well, there is no real storyline as such, it is really a view into the life of a thug who like to beat people up and loves football, it does not hold back with the violence, so it neither condoning or condemning it, I could not follow everything going on, but overall I found it an average British sports crime drama. Worth watching!

Based loosely on a novel and directed by Millwall supporter Nick Love who clearly enjoys hard British gangs and fights you start to wonder if he participated in things like these himself. Basically this film is about football hooligans which belong to 'Firms' and enjoy nothing better than to beat the crap out of each other every weekend, whatever your poison I guess.The film is actually pretty decent and does keep you glued to the screen as opposing firms clash, lets be honest here there is nothing else on offer really, you know its about footie hooligans and you just wanna watch them fight, this film mainly follows Millwall and Chelsea. The plot is reasonably interesting as it follows Danny Dyer and his moral dilemma of whether or not to continue being in a firm, nothing amazingly original and not too hard to predict either but like I said you watch the film for the violence period.You know what your getting with this so for a footie hooligan flick its probably the best out there with a good cast of your regular cockney lads. Doesn't paint a very good picture of England lets be honest but truth be told we're just a bunch of hardnuts.7/10

I've watch the "Green Street Hooligan's" several months ago and thought it was a good movie but this film is like a rush of blood to the head. "The Football Factory" is the ultimate head blowing, jaw clenching, white knuckle ride of a film. This film has all the elements to make up a night of exciting viewing, from though provoking characters, witty dialogue to energized music to watch boys batter each other.To begin theirs Tommy, fast approaching 30 and not a clue what to do with his sad little life, only thing he¹s clinging onto is the next big meet and Billy Bright the foul mouthed, bad tempered geezer who lost the ability to engage his brain a long time ago, he¹s only comfortable using his fists. Rod who does a stellar performance in a restaurant, acts as a perfect side kick to Tommy, Bill Farrell the perfect gentleman from a bygone era and Harris the mean-faced leader who could have Vinnie Jones for breakfast, plays the distant yet commanding leader.But I like the young kid who plays Zebberdee, a scaly living like vermin in the depths of South London, this is all credit to the acting as it must be difficult to play someone who is so detrimental to society and has very little redeeming features. Credit must be given to all the actors as they all deliver stellar performances in what must be the most unglamorous locations. There isn't one performance I would say was weak as they all hold the audiences attention and gage us into what they are doing and saying. I found the violence and fashion to be very realistic. "The Football Factory" is more than just football, its about loyalty, and a sense of belonging in this dysfunctional world.

I stumbled upon the television series: The Real Football Factories. I quickly became a fan of the show and Danny Dyer's personality and narrative skills. Upon researching who Danny Dyer was, I was excited to discover that a Football Factory film had been made and he was the star. Living in America, I knew nothing about the film or its director Nick Love. The synopsis of the movie immediately reminded me of the concept behind Green Street Hooligans, a film I thoroughly enjoyed. Therefore when I finally sat down to watch The Football Factory, I did so with a level of expectation that had already been set by Green Street. Unfortunately, The Football Factory fell well short.The story is totally undeveloped and lacks any kind of complexity. Throughout the entire movie the character's only means of interacting with each other are by drinking, using drugs, or fighting. After a while this simply becomes annoying... as do the characters. The only exception to this is the grandfather but one has to wonder why he was even included in the movie. He had absolutely no influence on the story and could have been written out all together with no consequence.The only positive comments I have about this movie are that Frank Harper, Tamer Hassan, and Danny Dyer turn in quality performances. However, this alone is not enough to save the film. By the end of the movie I didn't care who lived and who died. This is a problem since at some point during a film your average movie goer generally finds themselves identifying with someone on the screen or their cause. While watching The Football Factory, I simply felt like I was stuck in a room with a bunch of obnoxious drunks who deserved to have the sh*t kicked out of them.Skip this one.