Explosive
Summary
Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is one of the best entries in the franchise with Craig Fairbrass at his finest showing more empathy than we’re used to with Pat Tate. Like the Ip Man series this isn’t really based on real events anymore but it feels like something that could easily have happened in this criminal underworld. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great with enough special features to keep fans entertained for hours.
Plot: When a brutal crime sees London’s underworld shaken to its core, one man steps up to seek revenge on the crime boss who murdered his friend. Pat Tate (Craig Fairbrass) prepares for one night of mayhem which will see the streets and the clubs of Soho bathed in blood. Tate will stop at nothing as he gets closer to his goal – making both friends and enemies along the way.
Review: I do enjoy The Rise of the Footsoldier franchise; the first film was inspired by true events, but the sequels have become sort of “what if…” fables where much of the content never happened in reality but it isn’t a huge stretch to think these characters would be involved in such escapades.
Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is the latest entry and is a prequel following on from Origins; you really do need to see Origins to understand who some of the characters are in this film otherwise you may get a little lost.
This is Pat Tate’s (Craig Fairbrass) story where he is out for revenge after his friend Kenny is brutally murdered; I was a little disappointed nobody sad “Oh my God, you killed Kenny, you cahnt” but that’s just me. Pat is more refined in this movie making him more human rather than just a thug and Craig Fairbrass is at his best here giving him more empathy, but still having time to punch, stab and shoot his way through various bad guys. There is more of a story here rather than just constant violence and new characters like Fergus and Billy bring something fresh to it.
In terms of production values Vengeance may be the best of the franchise as it looks great and there are some stylish moments giving the film a glossier feel. Admittedly, some may prefer the down and dirty visuals of the first film but I love seeing how the franchise has progressed from a low budget, grimy crime picture to a full on action/revenge saga.
It’s well paced with some ferocious fight scenes and Fairbrass is utterly believable as frankly you’d have to be insane to start a fight with him as he has an intimidating presence any time he’s on screen.
I picked up the Blu-ray of Vengeance while in the UK a few weeks ago and it has some entertaining special features including an hour-long documentary on the making of the film, a selection of deleted and extended scenes and a commentary from the director. The deleted scenes don’t add much, so it’s understandable why they were cut (mostly for pacing reasons) but they remain my favourite kind of special features and why I still collect physical media.
Overall, Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is one of the best entries in the franchise with more characters and story rather than just constant violence; it still has plenty of bloodshed and satisfying action scenes to be well worth checking out.
