Good concept, poorly executed.

A different way of telling a story

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

In this fact-based movie, London is on fire. The cops are doing their best to contain the chaos, but it's difficult. One month earlier, a group of cops storm an apartment and arrest some people. I'm not clear on what's going on or whether it has a connection with the title event. Damien is a cynical cop who doesn't quite fit the ideal image of the "bobby". He can be nice, but if you're one of the bad guys, you don't want to mess with him. Even if he doesn't always do the right thing, he supports helping the city deal with crime. One of Damien's friends steals from a bar where Damien's girlfriend works. I think that's who she is. Eventually, Damien's girlfriend wants to break up. Three weeks before the title event, Damien has a pretty new female partner. Yes, that may mean what you think. The partner has a disabled father who was a victim of violence but wants to be as independent as possible. We get to see some of the cops' more interesting cases. One child won't go to school, putting his mother's benefits in jeopardy. The kid claims the elevator doesn't work, so he and the cops have to climb up seventeen stories. Another case involves a young soccer fan whose father is in Afghanistan. He is bullied for rooting for the wrong team. What happens with this kid may be related to the riot, but I'm not sure. A black man gets pulled over for a traffic offense. I think we see him again for some other reason. We also see a kid with a soccer ball in a parking garage. We keep going back to him, so what happens to him is not happening when the other events do. Two weeks before ... One week before ...I don't know what happens at each of these times. I'm just saying we are told this. Not in a way that really makes clear what is happening when. One hour before ... I'm not at all certain what is going on or what the connection is to the title event. Between the accents and the curse words that get bleeped, it's difficult for me to follow anything. What I do know is there are tragedies connected with the title event. This movie has some pleasant moments, even a few laughs. But mostly it is depressing. And when there is violence, it is quite graphic. No guns. Just fists. The leading actors seem to do a good job and I'm sure the writing is well done. This just isn't the sort of thing I can enjoy.

I am not surprised that so many people are disappointed by this film. They expected a cop thriller, an action flick probably, and instead they watched a complex and also confused psychological drama about violence, hooligans and the tough reality to be a cop when you have yourself major family problems. I was myself confused by the editing. To speak truly, I was lost, although I got the whole thing. I think it is a too ambitious but not enough monitored script. But certainly not uninteresting at all. Some pricks who don't understand it will say that's a bad movie. Shame on them. This is just an editing issue that jeopardizes the whole stiff and makes it too complicated for most of the audiences. Some very disturbing sequences, such as the female cop rape, in the underground parking. This film is far better than the ones which Simon Philips usually plays in. In summary, don't expect any gunshots or gangsters, but only brutality, cops and hooligans. A typical British noir social drama from UK. A trade mark for this country.

Not the rating here on IMDb at this moment. Though it's higher than the 3 points/stars that another reviewer mentioned I was surprised this being under 5 at the time of writing. But I guess people might get fed up with movies about hooligans (though to reduce this to just that would be unfair to the movie).Maybe it's the time-line and the jumping around events that got people annoyed, it's tough to say. Though I have to admit the "german" title for the movie is pretty "simple" - London Pitbulls - I don't think it makes any difference in the rating here. The main actor might not always be up to the task (a bit over the top, not enough charisma to pull certain things off), but the story itself is still worth watching

This movie is kind of an enigma, if you read the review that is tagged by IMDb you'd think it was the next Academy award winner for best picture? But it only garners a 4.1 from members and it's dropping fast?Then I remember hearing that Yahoo did a study, and even in it's own reviews 80% were fake, one way or the other... This movie is no Diff.The real reviews are easy to pick out, as they are the ones SPOT ON, to quote that tagged review... The acting here is somewhat less than stellar as is the directing, the budget is smaller than most movies, but I would still say was a wasted expense~they'll be no profits still~except for those already made... ;-)Believable, No!Good acting or direction, NOAlxMac (me) gives this a 2.1 you may even give it less. Put it this way, if it was a EarthQuake on the CA coast, after being reported many people would say, "I never felt a thing"... Pun? For sure, you might feel something, but I doubt it will be anything but the feeling to find a commode chair ASAP and grab the for railings...