Hooligans at War: North vs South (2015)

One of my all time favorites.

best movie i've ever seen.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Having been invited to go to the Premier of this film by Chris Bell I was so excited considering this was my first one of walking down the red carpet. Thought it was excellent that they managed to get a showing at Vue Cinemas which is a feat in itself. I thought the promotion, trailer and poster for the film were absolutely outstanding and professional.The atmosphere at the premier was very high spirited with most the main actors there. Steven and Chris did a mighty fine job of introducing the film and explaining the unbelievable budget that was spent on the making of this film. I loved the voice over freeze frame and the text up on the screen in the army scenes. I felt the film could have flowed a bit better but bearing in mind that the filming was started 5 years ago this is a valid explanation for this. All in all this was a fantastic effort from all the crew and actors involved and I can't wait to watch their next film!!

Let me start by saying this is not a great movie, it isn't even a particularly good one, but it is quite entertaining and takes a potentially clichéd premise and adds an interesting new spin on it.The colour grading is appalling, and is most likely the cause of some of the issues with the video quality and the effect doesn't look at all deliberate. I would genuinely preferred that they just left the video in its original colour than bleached it to the point of complete desaturation.One of the problems with the film is that it introduces characters there that do not appear in the modern day scenes creating the feel of two different movies jammed together to make up the run time. Using the Guy Ritchie device of a freeze frame with a voice over introduction, we are introduced to pretty much every major and minor character that appears on screen, whether or not they are integral to the plot. The army scenes contain a pretty much completely different set of characters to the hooligan scenes and no real attempt has been made to shoot scenes that link the two periods together in any real way; Johnny and Chris' time in the army is never referenced in the hooligan scenes and, as mentioned, none of the army characters reappear in the modern day scenes. The simple device of adding a few hooligan scenes referencing Chris and Johnny's army years and maybe a few reappearing characters from that time would have really helped the film gel a lot better.The hooligan part of the film has a coherent and funny story that, while not exactly original, has enough endearing characters and humour that is both self aware and self deprecating enough to show that the filmmakers are aware that they are not breaking new ground, but are having fun retreading the well worn paths of the London gang drama. The army scenes are an interesting addition, although they don't really have a particularly cohesive narrative, for example one scene sees the squaddies storming a barn for no established reason and others see them just wandering around aimlessly not making it clear what is going on. This part of the film could have done with more thought and more scripting (the army scenes feel disjointed and as if the director just threw a load of unrelated ideas at the screen to see what would stick) but still adds an interesting new dimension to the otherwise standard premise. Some of the acting is lamentable (notably Steven Smith, the co-director as Captain Hicks), but Chris Bell and Alan Lund manage to establish a realistic friendship/rivalry throughout the film. Lund is particularly impressive considering, prior to this film, he had not acted on screen before. Their on screen chemistry even salvages the army scenes and makes for entertaining watching, even when the plot seems lacking.As for the directing, while Smith should know better having directed other films previously, this represents Chris Bell's first directorial effort and is a fantastic start. Is it going to win an Oscar? Of course not, but it is an endearing first attempt and the melding of the army worlds and London hooligan worlds is genuinely interesting; most London hooligan films focus on football hooliganism, but this one attempts to draw parallels between the bonds forged in combat and those maintained in the criminal underworld. With a higher budget or a better director, this could have been a modern classic and redefined a genre, but, considering the resources on offer for the film, the production still managed to make something watchable even if it doesn't make the best sellers list.

Essentially this is a gangster flick with a nicely incorporated military element. Okay so there may be a few discrepancies with dates of the Bosnian war and the ages of the recruits in the basic training scenes but HOLD ON........You need to appreciate the film for what it is and what Chris Bell and the team have achieved on a minuscule budget! The story of two friends as their lives envelop from the military to top London gangsters. This is a well worked back drop to a very gutsy, hard hitting, gritty and cool British film........There is plenty of action for the boys as well as some nicely acted scenes showing the complexities and intricacies of everyday relationships within a gangster lifestyle which isn't an easy thing to pull off but the film handles it well.There are times when the editing / cutting isn't brilliant but we are not talking a Hollywood blockbuster budget here!! There are some nice one-liners and plenty of likable characters which makes the film easily watchable and the documentary style camera shots encompass you into the films ethos really well. The two main characters Chris and Johnny are played beautifully by Chris Bell and Alan Lund showing the various layers of vulnerability as well as the hard man element.I take my hat off to what Chris Bell, Steven M Smith and the team have done with this film which includes a lovely and clever twist in the plot!I for one will be watching this film many times over and because of the way it is filmed and it's slight discrepancies it could easily be catapulted into cult status in years to come! Not a term I would use lightly.Anything these guys do in future I will certainly watch!!!!

For a film made on a micro budget...a great story from start to finish wonderful cast and crew made a great tale a memorable one ... Top job everyone a most enjoyable movie...I'm getting extra copies for friends and family...wonderful performances from Chris bell, jimmy the b,mark Windham,mark Preston ,mark s to name but a few and action packed,more than some big budget films , I for one will be watching for the next film from this talented team,will it be a sequel or a whole new story...with a bigger budget it can only get better well done once more all involved..a proper boys action film great to watch before or after the match...seen it four times already