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Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is the sixth film in a franchise of which I’ve been aware, but never seen before.
I see the first film was released in cinemas, but most of the others since have been for home release only, until the 2021 movie, Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins, which saw it return to the big screen. And why not, given that it’s a British movie, and there’s so much American guff coming to the screens lately, that it’s time for some home-grown talent.
Plus, it’s always entertaining to see Craig Fairbrass chewing the scenery, even though the last time I saw him do this was in digital form, during the Under No Flag segment of Battlefield V.
In short, an armed robbery goes seriously wrong for Pat Tate (Fairbrass) and Kenny (Josh Myers), resulting in a security guard getting shot. Plus, instead of a large stack of cash, there’s only 2.5k in the haul. As such, everyone is mean and moody and angry, not least big crime boss David Hexell (Phil Davis – Viewpoint). This all leads to Kenny wanting to set up on his own with Billy the Kid (Ben Wilson), and with the addition of Jamie Foreman as Sam, a friend of Pat’s, we’re in East End gangster territory with everyone shouting at each other, and trying to rip one another off.
As I hadn’t seen any of the previous films, I realised there was a reveal for something relating to a past storyline, and without giving spoilers, I can see how this is leading into a seventh movie. After all, why stop a long-running franchise in its tracks, when it’s on the up?
There’s a fair amount of humour, such as when a doorman stops Pat entering a particular establishment by pointing into him, to which Pat replies gruffly, “That’s a very, firm finger…”, plus great music in the form of Roxette (The Look), Soft Cell (Tainted Love), and A Flock Of Seagulls (I Ran), making me wonder if this was set in the ’80s (and if it was, I’m still none the wiser), along with a lot of punching, shotgun-toting and grenades.
Since I’m currently on Odeon’s Limitless, and it’s quite easy to find 2 or 3 films to watch on a weekend afternoon, this slotted in nicely inbetween A Haunting In Venice and Bolan’s Shoes, so it’s worth a punt… and that’s NOT a rude word as used by Mr Fairbrass in the clip below! But… with that clip I was completely sold on this, and for almost two hours, it did not disappoint!
So, reconvene in 2025 for Part 7, then, and try to catch up with the others in the meantime?
Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release on December 26th.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 112 minutes
Release date: September 15th 2023
Studio: Signature Entertainment
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7.5/10
Director: Nick Nevern
Producers: Andrew Loveday, Andrew George Southern, Terry Stone, Richard Turner
Screenplay: Andrew Loveday, Jason Maza
Music: Ross Power
Cast:
Pat Tate: Craig Fairbrass
Jan: Sadie Frost
Kenny: Josh Myers
Margo: Tara Fitzgerald
David Hexell: Phil Davis
Jonny Knight: Geoff Bell
Charlotte: Emily Wyatt
Fergus: Stephen McCole
Sam: Jamie Foreman
DCI Jones: Kirsty J Curtis
Mo: Anthony Skordi
Megan: Zoe Scott
Joey Waller: George Russo
Aziz: Christopher Sciueref
Kim: Melly Myers
Hendrick: Tomi May
Seedy Punter: Matthew Nuttall
Frankie: Franky Lankester
Billy The Kid: Ben Wilson
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.