Good movie but grossly overrated

As Good As It Gets

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

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 can honestly say this is by far the best British film I've ever seen. takes an honest look at the working class people. could have made this a horrible film with no story just violence but while there is a bit of that there's still a good back story.. if this kind of thing interest's you then this film is for you. have seen this film many many times and id still watch it happily, does not get better than this. couldn't say a bad word about this film.. great mix of football violence, humour and comradary between brothers and some of the best quotes i have ever heard and will never forget. the film is also cast brilliantly with great work from danny dyer, frank harper and of course tamar hassan, thats not to mention the great supporting roles. a film a promise you wont forget

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.

At its very centre, the question The Football Factory revolves around is 'was it worth it?' It is a question its protagonist Tommy Johnson, played by Danny Dyer, sees written in shop windows and on the sides of buses as his life increasingly spirals out of control whilst his conscience takes over and forces him to confront what it is he's actually doing in life. It is a question that Johnson asks himself near the very end but replies to his own voice with "Of course it was!", before he witnesses an act of violence so horrifying that it eclipses anything previously shown in the film. This would've left the film on an ambiguous note as to whether Johnson will now reconsider his prior reply or whether he'll even survive the next ten seconds of his life following this incorrect confirmation that it was indeed 'worth it'. The only thing that taints this final thought is the 'what happened next' caption/image that spoils what is, essentially, a fantastic film.The film was Nick Love's second, second only to Goodbye Charlie Bright which was a bit of a mess. Here, Love takes on substance and he takes on a relevant issue that is linked to today's British culture; that being football hooliganism. The topic may not be as common now or indeed in 2004 when it was made as it was a couple of decades ago, but it exists and The Football Factory acts as a sly reminder it does just as it is a stylish study-come-demonisation of said topic. The film does this through a variety of scenes but takes time to look at the bond between hooligans as this out of control journey takes place amidst a sea of grotty and grimy locations in and around England.The film follows Tommy and a couple of other characters in Chelsea football club's 'firm'. But teams are immaterial here as we look at Billy Bright (Harper); Rod (Maskell) and a younger member of the firm whom it would seem has quite large aspirations in terms of climbing the ladder within the group named Zeberdee (Manookian). Around all this lies the film's anchor; the film's one sane head who becomes a more humble and a more mature individual when he suffers a tragedy himself linked to his best friend of about fifty years. His name is Bill Farrell (Sutton) and he's Tommy's grandfather. One of the more memorable scenes is the introduction of Bright himself, which draws away from both comedy and drama and just becomes plain frightening when the light hearted tone in a pub is replaced by pure menace once he challenges a younger and smaller firm member. The character and his aggressive, confrontational mindset is set up perfectly for the rest of the film. Another scene that compliments the shifting in tone is when Johnson is cornered in some public toilets to do with who he is.The demonisation of being a football hooligan begins with a typical establishment of a night out. Tommy and Rod are looking for women and a drink and eventually they find both in a couple of loose girls with whom they venture back the one of their homes with. The following scenes offer light relief or comedy when it appears both males fell asleep but very quickly it turns into danger when Tommy wakes up with a knife to his throat and a fuming brother of one of the girls snarling at him. He escapes and, in his own words, "that's when all the trouble started". What began as a routine and potentially silly 'pick up and easy lay' scenario quickly turns into light comedy and then life threatening before you realise the demonisation of the scenario has been completed when Tommy turns up to work disillusioned, still shaken and slightly frightened. The whole thing suddenly does not look as glamorous.Twinned with this is Johnson's gradual decline into honesty about what he's doing thanks to nightmares and visions, something that branches out into a realm of the uncanny in this refreshing and multi-genre approach that has already been established will zip in and out of comedy, drama and horror. The key scene in moving the film into the third act occurs at a flower stand when someone who has escaped 'the life' tells Johnson to do the same thing with Bright himself being identified as a figure you don't want to end up as; as a figure of such hatred and violence and dedication to these two things that being with him will only incur further punishment.What's interesting about both character's demise into this mindset is how each one deals with the questioning of their own dedication. When Johnson asks himself if it's worth it, he begins to move away and questions his involvement. When Bright's dedication is questioned by the higher-ups after some eavesdropping, Bright chooses the wrong option and ups the stakes by bringing in firearms following the knocking of his ego. Such a scene demonstrates the correct and incorrect choices when this way of life pushes you into a corner and forces you to make a decision based on what involvement you truly, truly want in a hooligan firm. The Football Factory is stylish but doesn't glamorise; it is gritty and involving but you never really have 'fun' watching it. What you do feel, however, is thoroughly intrigued by the plight of this lone individual as he falls by the way-side and questions his own masculine identity amidst a sea of egos and violence.