Cass (2008)

Touches You

Such a frustrating disappointment

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There's many British gangster movies / football hooligan movies. Cass i certainly a candidate for being one of the better ones out there. I never go into story lines etc and try to keep my reviews brief and to the point here on IMDb. Basically if your a fan of the better UK movies like Football Factory, Green Street, Rise Of The FootSoldier, Clubbed etc then there's no way you will not enjoy this. Being based on a true story makes it even more engrossing for me and it's one i would recommend hence me giving it 8 stars.One downside is that it gives off a bit of a budget look... almost older then it is look with the visuals but its a solid British flick. Deffo check it out.

An orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain.Cass grew up in a time before political correctness and was forced to endure racist bullying on a daily basis, until one day when the years of pent up anger came out in a violent burst. Cass found through violence the respect he never had and became addicted to the buzz of fighting. His way of life finally caught up with him when an attempted assassination on his life, saw him shot three times at point blank range...After a string of dismal football hooligan movies and dodgy sequels, and the majority of Nick Love films and the fact that Tamar Hassan is in it, you'd be forgiven for giving this a wide birth.but this isn't just another football film, this is about a man who wanted prejudice to be about who he supported, not the colour of his skin.It's a very gritty made film, with not a lot of violence, and it feels like it's the eighties, not looking like the eighties, if you know what i mean.All of the cast are very good (even Hassan), and although some of the settings are reminiscent of the original 'The Firm', this still stands head and shoulders above films like Green Street, Football Factory and ID.Not for everybody's taste, but a very heartfelt story, and proof that people could stand up in Maggies Millions

An elderly white couple, adopt a child from Jamaica and raise him up during the 70's...I chronicles his life from being racially attacked... to actually attacking people for his beloved football team.The character of Cass is a man who blindingly loves his country and must face prosecution from others and constantly told he does not belong...I loved his rise, and the respect he accumulates from people.I found the prison part to be very fascinating as another Jamiacan British cell mate tells him about why he should care for his roots, and Cass's place in the world.The fight scenes were brilliantly shot and show Great Britain's hard men...We are not all like Hugh Grant..LOL..A good solid film with a great cast of actors..

This film was of a real interest to me as it was produced by the same producer as Green Street, and having watched it I feel more informed, if a little frustrated.The film centres around the character of Cass Pennant, a real life hooligan and 80's icon for hooliganism. Adopted into a white family, in an age of racism and violence, Cass finds his natural environment in the place where you would have thought he would be the biggest victim.The script is based on Cass Pennants book 'Cass', and you can't help but feel it was copied and pasted from novel to script. The main problem is that this could have been one of the best football thug films if they had managed to get decent actors. Not that they don't do a good job, its just not great. Nonso Anozie is pretty good as the main character Cass, its interesting to see a generally soft natured character flip out now and again in a hooligan film instead of the typical hot-headed cockney. The rest of the cast however don't support him very well, and it seems as though they are forcing the drama rather than acting in a biopic. Overall though, its an interesting insight into a real character in hooliganism, how he ended up, and kept going back, in the hooligan 'business'. If you are looking for another rise of the foot-soldier or a football factory type film, then this may not be for you.