Waste of time

Good movie but grossly overrated

As Good As It Gets

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER PART II is one of those mindless little British gangster films made on a very low budget indeed. If you've seen the first film in this series, you'll know the story was conclusively tied up at the climax, leaving this a pointless sequel following a peripheral and minor character. What kills this film is the absolutely diabolical script, which is full of endless expletives and no kind of with at all. The main actor seems bored by the whole experience and the plot is a mindless mash up of male testosterone and antagonism in warehouses, strip joints, and nightclubs.

Review: I really wasn't expecting that much from this film, especially when I saw that it had something to do with the Rettendon killings but it actually turned out to be quite entertaining. The raw, intense and gritty storyline was, surprisingly, quite gripping and the Essex backdrop was put together well. The violence, sex and foul language did go a bit over the top but that was expected from this English, gangster type movie, which was based in Essex, at a time when the Rettendon murders were still in people's minds. All of the actors put in a decent performance, and they made the movie seem extremely real but the person that I was most impressed with was Ricci Harnett (Carlton Leach), who was pretty brutal and unlikable at the beginning but he found some redemption towards the end. When Carlton finally decides to "Knock It On The Head", to live the quiet life with his family, he is pushed to limit and his past catches up with him, so I would like to see a 3rd instalment, to finally see if he has turned his bad ways, to the good. The only downfall about this film is that there are a lot of movies in this genre which, are the same in many ways but I still stayed interested throughout, and I found it quite enjoyable. Round-Up: This movie was also directed by Ricci Harnett, who played the leading role, so he really did give this project his all. The London born actor/writer/director has also starred in movies like 28 Days Later, Vendetta starring Danny Dyer, Top Dog, the impressive Ill Manors, the Rise & Fall of a White Collar Hooligan, and some TV series like the Bill, Buried and Dubplate Drama. He also starred in the first instalment of this movie, so he wasn't new to the project. Anyway, for his directorial debut, I personally think that he done a good job with this movie and his acting was top form but it would be good to see him tackle another genre, because this one has been done to death.I recommend this movie to people who are into their crime movies starring Ricci Harnett, Steven Berkoff, Luke Mably, Craig Fairbrass, Terry Stone and Tygo Gernandt. 4/10

Watched this last night. Wasn't sure as to how it would be, as sequels can often be something of a disappointment. However, after a wee bit of a slow start, it got going and it focused on Leach's life, post the murder of his friends. It wasn't afraid to show the less glamorous side of crime and that it's not all that it's dressed up to be, by some. Good to see Leach's efforts to reconnect with his family. Good performance from Ricci Harnett and I also wasn't aware that he had lots of input behind the scenes. Obviously something of a labour or love for him.It's also been left open for a third installment. I wouldn't mind seeing that, if it comes to fruition. :)

The original RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER was unfortunate in that it arrived very belatedly in an era when most British films seemed inspired by Guy Ritchie . There's only some much mileage you can squeeze out of a formula so by the time RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER came out everyone had become bored by mockney gangsters . That said I found Julian Gilbey's true life crime movie to be rather underrated and if there was a British equivalent of GOODFELLAS that might have been it . Crime doesn't pay ? Tell me about it . Despite this the idea of a sequel seems needless and I can see why this continuation of Carlton Leach's life story came and went without the slightest fanfare In its favour director and star Ricci Harnett concentrates on continuity with the prior film . Some of the cast are resurrected and we have the same look and feel as the 2007 . There is a slight difference and that where Leach became a very peripheral character in the second half of RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER here he appears in nearly every scene and is the constant central character of the narrative This leads to a fundamental problem though . While the lives of Tate , Rolfe and Tucker were unremittingly violent and made the first film compelling here there's considerably less violence which makes for a less compulsive film . Don't get me wrong , you won't confuse this with Walt Disney family fare but this tends to draw your attention to another aspect - self justification . Carlton you see isn't really a bad man and only maims and beats people who deserve it and the understated violence is only inflicted on people who deserve . Perhaps even worse there's an element of redemption running through the narrative subtext but how does a former West Ham ICF thug and gangster redeem himself ? The answer is he probably can't . It's not a bad film but if you need convincing that crime doesn't pay the message has been spelled out in better films without trying to elicit sympathy from the audience