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You won't be disappointed!

Nice effects though.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

While perhaps not quite up there with The Long Good Friday (Will any British Gangster film ever be?) ROTF is well made biopic of one man's story from his time on the football terraces of the late 1970's with West Ham's notorious ICF to the world of the door security, slowly rising to become a small but influential figure in London and Essex Criminal Underworld. While this journey to ascension might not be as regal as that of a New York Crime boss, let us not forget this is England and such small but influential figures do exist. Carlton Leach (Played by Ricci Hartnett) was a well-connected man, if you wanted something, he could get it for you or he knew someone who could. The film charts his life over three decades against the backdrop of his criminal activities and the people he came into contact with, who eventually included the named Essex Boys who would be made famous infamous in the so called 'Range Rover Murders'.I regretted not seeing this film on the big screen upon its release. The broadsheets are rarely kind to independent British Films, but they were especially harsh in their reviews of this one which is poor judgement on their part. Critical of the amount of swearing and depictions of violence seemed to bullet points upon which their poor marks were based, yet American depictions of a similar way of life such as Goodfellas, have just the same amount of both and are hailed a work of genius and while Rise doesn't quite have the same talents involved on the acting plaudits, what it does have is a sense of scale. The story feels epic, you get a sense and feel for the different times in which the film is set from the violent terraces of the 70's to the coming of the Ecstasy fulled era of the late 80's leading to the results of living on the edge for too long in the 90's. The high ranking critics of the film world may well not relate to these eras on that level, which is hardly surprising as they were unlikely to be part of such circles, but the Gibley brothers have proved that on a fraction of the budget they can come up with an engrossing tale that depicts a big story taking place over many years. Though the film is Carlton's story, the last third of it is very much given over to the Essex Range Rover killings and his friendship with Tony Tucker (Played by newcomer Terry Stone) though this connection may seem tenuous, it serves as a benchmark for change to both his own life and what was happening in the criminal fraternity at the time. One of the nice things about this depiction of events is it accepts that the final version that you do see, may not indeed be the correct one as other probable theories are shown screen. The film has several supporting cast that ably fill their roles including the familiar faces of Billy Murray, Craig Fairbrass, Roland Nanookin (Very underrated actor whose range far exceeds the roles he gets offered) and some new up and coming faces pop up here too who often outclass others in their scenes including Danny Midwinter, Ian Virgo and Jason Maza. The film isn't perfect, a couple of scenes seem a little long and could have been cut without losing any impact and the one or two weaker performers do tend to stand out, proving as always, casting is king, but I found they were minor distractions in a really solid piece of film making. It is regrettable that this film was so easily dismissed as just another British Gangster flick upon its release, as it offers so much more than that and has since (rightly) gained a huge following on DVD. Of the four films that covers the subject of the Ranger Rover murders (I still have yet to see the latest offering) this has thus far proved the strongest and the most interesting, charting as it does the lives of the characters that live in a world that certainly many will not relate to, but will be familiar to those that have been there. While Ricci Hartnett might not quite have captured the real Carlton Leach's razor sharp humor, he adequately fills the role as someone who can only watch as people he cares about spiral into a world where the control he thought he had is proved to be all but frugal. For anyone who wants a real perspective on what the British underworld is all about – the small deals that can go wrong, the back stabbing and the alliances that can be easily broken, as we are shown the roots that someone had that lead them there – this is a truthful, violent and gritty depiction of that world and one that is worthy of your viewing time if you haven't seen it yet.

I really don't understand why there is so much hate on this film , I mean each to his own, fair enough it may not be your cup of tea but I think it's really good. The true story alone is interesting enough and this is just well made, very enjoyable to watch and you get a real taste of the kind of lives the characters were living, I have not read the book yet and I do not expect this film to be a 100% accurate and neither do I expect the book, films of true events rarely are and there are different books with different views on the truth to complicate things further, but overall I thought this was a great movie. I would say one of the best British gangster films I have seen in awhile. Well acted, everyone played their roles perfectly. You could really picture Tony Tucker, Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe actually being like that in real life. Carlton Leech seemed pretty spot on as well, I mean some of his lines did seem a bit cheesy but he also had some great lines, "He looks like the *beep* honey monster", but overall he was played well, especially with the steroid side, you can see the negative effects. I also love the pill scene, that makes me laugh every time. Fight scenes were entertaining and well done, not too Hollywood and not too fake looking either, nice and gritty. Soundtrack matched the feel of the film well, especially the "break- down" towards the end. Well directed and just entertaining and interesting. Lots of people saying only a low life can enjoy this or you to be a psychopath to enjoy this movie is a bit judgemental really. People complaining about too much violence in the film? It's about the criminal underworld, gangsters and hooligans, what did you expect Bridget Jones Diary? I don't think they over used the violence, every bit ties in within the story and building up the characters. What do you believe in real life Pat Tate, Tony Tucker and Carlton Leech just had pillow fights? ICF were known tickling each other? Of course there is going to be a lot of violence, that's the life they lived.

There have been three films about the Rettendon Murders and the rise of Essex gangsters, Rise of the Footsoldier, Essex Boys and Bonded by Bond. Rise of the Footsoldier is considered the best of the trio, even though there is a big divide between critics and audiences.Carlton Leach (Ricci Harnett) is a football hooligan for West Ham's firm, the I.C.F. who becomes a bouncer. In the mid 80s he slowly rises, forming a business of thuggery, offering protection for clubs, drug dealers, torturing people, doing drugs runs and dealing ecstasy during the rise of the rave scene. But slowly as Carlton becomes more involved into violence, crossing Turkish gangster and getting more involved with gangsters and their various conflicts and turf wars.Julian Gilbey is seen as a rising star as a director, making British action films. His first film was an awful student film, Reckoning Day, his first real film Rollin' with the Nines was an improvement, Rise of the Footsoldier again an improvement and his latest film A Lonely Place to Die is seen as his best film so far. At this rate he should be making a Oscar winning classic very soon. With Rise of the Footsoldier he certainly delivers a very fast pace film, there is never a dull moment. Rise of the Footsoldier is a very violence film, being extremely brutal with people getting hit with a variety of weapons, getting tortured and blood flying around all over the play. The early hooligan scenes reminded me of The Football Factory, using hand held cameras, attempting a gritty feel and using a voice-over (though I think The Football Factory is a much better film). I particularly like the beginning about showing Carlton being a gangster and the end showing the shooting and the different scenarios it could have happened. Gilbey does have some stylish moments showing the worst case scenarios if they go to war with the Turkish gangsters, which was particularly well done.Acting wise its passable. There is nothing spectacular from the actors but no one was awful either. A problem is that Rise of the Footsoldier that it relies too much the old British cliché of constant strong swearing, using the f and c word all the time. I would have preferred more characterisation and seem more interaction between the characters, more of their personal lives and how their operations featured besides from the beginning.Rise of the Footsoldier is a decent film and a well directed piece of work.

Having had more than a few mates suggest i check Rise of the Footsoldier out, i eventually got round to it last night. Undoubtedly the story Colton Leach has to tell (and did so in his autobiography) is a compelling tale of one mans ascent from Terrace boot boy to connected underworld villain. This film sadly compromised in quality by miscasts, appalling accents and woeful acting.Ricci Harnett in the lead role of Leach does a reasonable job of conveying the transition from thuggery to serious criminal but his accent is all over the place. As his voice provides the stories narration it is something that after ten minutes was driving me nuts. Terry Stone as Tony Tucker provided the unintentional comedy with an ill fitting wig (or the worst Barnett going)dialogue that was so expletive riddled it bordered on juvenile and an over the top vehemence in line delivery reducing Tucker to parody.What troubled me most about this film was that the events leading up to the shooting in Rettenden, Essex and the formative years of Leach are of genuine interest to crime fans and fans of football hooliganism so, to have this story sabotaged by a lack of credible accents and acting left me feeling an opportunity had been missed. Roland Manookian and Frank Harper provide the films only source of authenticity. On the positive side some of the films pacing and construct flowed well and kept the attention. The violence was well choreographed and aside from an over reliance on projectile red syrup for blood spatterings was on the whole realistic. If you enjoyed the film then it is worth checking out Essex Boys telling a similar tale from fictionalised viewpoint and also featuring Billy Murray.