User reviews

Like a lot of people, when I first heard the news that Nick Love was "updating" the original version of The Firm I anticipated the worst. My objection lay not so much in the fact it was a remake of a classic film, but more as to why we needed yet another film centering on football hooliganism.

The argument that such material merely glamorizes the violence it depicts, (appealing as it does to a section of youth that also worship the fashion and lingo of the genre) is without question. The worst example of which (and still prominent in most bargain bins of HMV up and down the land) would be the truly execrable "Green Street". A film so inept in its plotting, acting and overall plausibility that you'd be forgiven for thinking the whole thing had been stitched together by a gang of football thugs themselves.

Contrary to what director Lexi Alexander may think, this was a film that at every opportunity served to heighten the voyeuristic delight of its male, teenage demographic. Self conscious fight sequences shot through with booming dance interludes, whilst a preoccupation with all things bloody gave way to an orgiastic ending which was more like a scene from Braveheart than a realistic portrayal of football mob violence.

Which brings us back to Love and The Firm. What immediately strikes here, as it does in "Goodnight Charlie Bright", and "The Football Factory" is the skill and accuracy with which Love conveys his subject matter.

The film is also a far warmer and optimistic piece than anything Love has made so far. Central character "Dominic" shares an all too believable rapport with his father, forever wrangling money from him, whilst both parents playfully tease him throughout the film - trying their best not to cramp his style when a friend catches Dom at his local sports store.

It is this held focus on the family, combined with the way in which Dominic is positioned when the violence first unfolds (felled by a single punch and then little more than a terrified witness for the remainder of the film)that make for a clear mission statement on the behalf of the director.

The scenes of violence here must also be commended for their reserve and authenticity. Thanks to Love's impeccable eye for the 1980s, the sense of watching a documentary on football violence runs close at times, with the camera skittering about to capture snatches of fight that never quite take off as quite accurately, the police intervene - with their standard uniform and makeshift formation, capturing them in flux before the later arrival of CCTV and full riot gear.

This lends real tension to these scenes. Yet Love has no agenda here other than to show how quickly such altercations are broken up and how they often amount to little more than benign screaming matches. Even the more "laddish" Football Factory tended not to dwell on the full scale chaos between its football gangs and Love has clearly kept this in mind with The Firm.

It must be said however, that the film hardly breaks new territory. (within what is already a very limited genre) Though there is no question that the look and feel of the era has been captured brilliantly and that as top boy "Bex" Paul Anderson is suitably charged, with its rather obvious ending - an eye for an eye simply meaning someone will end up losing their head, it is at least a refreshing twist to see Love's championing of the values of friends and family over the raging poison of the hooligans themselves.

If you have seen the original version of this, then the chances are you will really want to see this. I have seen the original, so when i saw this first advertised, i almost wet myself with anticipation. Sadly, i have to report that I'm quite disappointed. Paul Anderson does a pretty good job as Bex Bissle, however the performance can only be described as lacklustre when compared to the tower of menace and intensity that Gary Oldmans original incarnation produced.

Now. If you are going to see this in the hope that its another Football Factory/Green Street/Rise Of The Footsoldier orgy of football and people bashing the crap out of each other, you will be sadly disappointed.

This film does however contain Elise tracksuits, Adidas trainers, some bad haircuts and a decent soundtrack. Oh and there is a lot of profanities if you like that sort of thing in a movie. thinking about it this movie doesn't have a great deal else. There isn't much talk about the beautiful game or the teams the firms themselves support, there isn't much in the way of beatings, and if I'm honest, not a great deal of violence. Im actually very surprised that this merits an 18 certificate.

However, the film is well acted, does feel quite indie and very British, though the trailer for that new Michael Caine movie was most likely the most excited i got in the whole 2 hours.

Yes see this movie if your interested in the subject matter, but if you haven't seen the original and want to watch a proper football hooligan movie, check that out instead.

Nick Love's films are not about football violence, they are about men. They ask the question, how do boys become men in a world where the men around them are dysfunctional, often abused and abusive, or in the case of our public figures, corrupt? His films often use the back drop of the football tribe (gang), where it is understood, you can at once lose yourself and find an instant identity, but at what cost? The men in Nick Loves films are always flawed & struggling to find their place in a world that regards their attitude and energies as irrelevant, and as a result they are drawn, by the perceived excitement and glamour, into the bosom of the street gang.

At the core of many of our social ills are dysfunctional men, failing themselves & us on a daily basis. This self hatred, often intensified by drink or drugs, is channelled back at society in many forms, often violent. Nick Love's films open up this world of male adversarial culture and expose it to the sun light. With an uncompromising swagger and flare, he addresses often distasteful issues that are very present, to a greater or lesser degree, all around us and many young men have to face on a daily basis. In fact one of the reasons Nick Loves films manage to gain finance, is that he is always aware of his audience and as a result has built a loyal following that feel understood by a British film maker.

It is lazy not to understand the themes Nick Love is trying to explore, and too easy to join the band wagon of criticism, which in many ways mimics the criticism boys & men face through out their life, as their energies are misunderstood. Far better to welcome the maturing of a talent, and to support and celebrate a British film maker, who is still managing to use the canvas of film to explore themes that are universal, and as relevant today as they were in the 1980s.

Nick Love however, is not Alan Clarke and his subjects, although similar, are very different. Alan Clarke's main thesis was political and his original film was written in a time that saw the working class being remodelled along Thatcherite principles. Clarke & Hunter perceived the football 'thugs' as an extension of the selfish yuppie, that became detached from the traditional community and was looking for a home and found football. While it cannot be denied that the political pressures and unrest of the Thatcher period were profound, and gave rise to a number of dispossessed subcultures, Nick Love's film operates in a world of the personal, not political. His film feels written from the inside out, not the other way round. Gone are the endless scenes debating the rights and wrongs of football violence, which felt heavy with the hand of the filmmaker, and in comes a confident understanding of the world of the story. Free from this pressure to explain the terms of the genre, Love's film becomes about belonging, about the excitement and rituals of the tribe. Whether thematically this is better or worse is one of personal preference, suffice to say, it would have been deeply misguided for Love to have attempted to voice Clarkes themes, which although potent, feel redundant from this point in history.

One could argue that Clarke & Hunters original film failed to fully understand the subculture they used as their political vehicle. In one of the final scenes of the original 'Firm', a minor characters says to a documentary crew,''..its not about the football, we would organize around darts if we could'' .. this has been shown through study to be incorrect. No other sport has thrown up such a subculture as 'Football Hooligans'. It is tribal and deeply rooted, as in the case of Milwall & West Ham, in years and years of territorial and geographical rivalry. Football violence existed long before Clarke or Love, what happened in the 1980s, is it became highly organized, and as Love correctly identifies in his film, it became 'fashionable'. Nick Love's 'The Firm' understands this and in many ways is a truer representation of this phenomenon.

There are a handful of British film makers working today, that are able to explore issues which go to the heart of our culture, within a global multiplex environment . Like it or loath it, Nick Love reaches out and provides a voice to a disaffected , often working class audience, and does this against enormous odds, not least, the middle class critical establishment.

Despite Nick Love being the most criticised film director working in Britain today his remake of THE SWEENEY has topped the UK film this week . Of course the fact that it's made a million quid at the box office is probably down to the title . If the film was called RAY WINSTIONE PLAYING HIMSELF SORTING OUT SOME NAUGHTY CRIMINALS it probably wouldn't have been such a success but hey there's nothing like a little cynicism if only to irritate and annoy the luvvie film critics who can't get enough poncy art house cinema. This film a remake of the highly regarded Alan Clarke drama from 1989 is a previous attempt to be cynical

Clarke was along with Loach and Leigh the master of British realist cinema . Wisely Love decides not to follow this type of directing style . Instead he shoots a movie that has a wonderful rich look. The cinematography by the ironically named Matt Gray gives the impression that we're seeing an up and coming Roger Deakins in action and one wonders why Gray is confined to television . It's the cinematography that will be your abiding memory of this film

The problem is that while you're watching the film and old enough to remember the 1980s you'll be forever scratching your head wondering what year it's set in . Characters walk around in shell suits which were once considered to be cool in about 1989 or 1990 . Likewise the hairstyles indicate that it's 1989-90 when the first film was set . But this illusion is contradicted by the musical soundtrack with artists likeSoft Cell , Tears For Fears and The Rock Steady Crew which gives the impression it's 1983 or 84 at the latest . Indeed there's a TV report that Leon Brittain is home secretary which means it's set in 1983-85 . As someone who was a teenager in this period let me tell you now there's no way anyone would have a shell suit or that type of hairstyle in the early to mid 1980s . These anachronistic aspects are totally distracting . This is a pity because it tends to ruin the first half of the movie . The second half does borrow heavily from the original teleplay but no doubt anyone who can remember the original will say the original was better and harder hitting

This is a great shame because it's something of a brave decision by Love to retell the story from the point of view from Dom who was a relatively minor character from the 1989 FIRM . Cynics might say that's because there's no way someone of Love's reputation could get someone of the stature of an up and coming Gary Oldman to carry the film as the main character , can you imagine Danny Dyer as Bex ! . As it stands it's a much better looking and better made film than Love's 2007 effort OUTLAW and is fairly watchable

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

A re-make of the 1988 TV play with Paul Anderson taking over Gary Oldman's original role as Bex, the property agent whose buzz in life is being the head boy of The West Ham Firm. Young upstart Dom (Calum McNab) and his friend try to challenge his authority in a nightclub, but are soon put on the spot and made to issue a grovelling apology. But Bex takes a shine to Dom and invites him to join his army...but as events go on, it becomes more and more clear how Bex's drive for his 'buzz' has pushed him over the edge.

I'd been expecting an adaptation of The Sweeney to be Nick Love's next filmic venture, but instead this re-make of Alan Clarke's original TV film has arrived. It's still set in the 80s but nostalgia for that era is the main decent thing you take away from this film.

There's no drive to this version of The Firm, no 'oompth' or real wow factor. It may be that the 'football hooligan' movie has been done to death and everything's a bit too predictable, but the tracksuits the main characters wear are the most colourful thing about the film. It's like a joyless version of The Football Factory, with nowhere near as much energy or real raw power to it. The clashes between the rival firms, separated as best as they can by the police on patrol, have a realistic air of disorder and lack of control to them but there's no really juicy bust ups to any of it. The film sort of just ambles along with no real narrative flow or direction, and with a distinct lack of fun or excitement to the proceedings.

Performances wise, rising star Daniel Mays feels wasted as Bex's sworn enemy Yeti, whilst as the man himself Anderson gives no real power to the role. He must have known he'd have to pull off a miracle to deliver anything even close to Oldman's raw intensity, but even if you don't expect too much you feel short changed.

The one thing it can boast is a reliably decent 80s soundtrack. But you get the feeling Love might be starting to take himself a bit too seriously and could end up alienating the fan boys who first got him noticed. **

I've seen this same movie before in 'Cass' and 'Green Street Hooligans' -both of which I preferred. I'm Canadian and I still don't get the whole "hooliganism" thing. Why were these guys killing each other over footie teams? Anyways, this version follows 'Dom' a young football casual who gets drawn into the dangerous world of "The Firm" because of his fast mouth and sense of humour, then as the violence reaches a peak he finds he can't get out.

This was still pretty good. I loved the authentic language filled with rhyming slang and pikey-isms and Dom's parents were sweet and just hilarious. A great (nostalgic) soundtrack too if you grew up in the eighties. Those outfits/sweatsuits the guys wore just killed me, and they thought they looked so cool. Dom's parents were right, he looked liked a postal box. 03.13

There are two major factors that separate Nick Love's reimagining of his football hooligan film The Firm from Alan Clarke's original 1988 television play: the first is a perspective change from the point of view of the repulsive yet compelling character Bex (played in this version by Paul Anderson, who does a fair job of imitating Gary Oldman but doesn't bring anything new to the table), to that of whiny, annoying, dry-lunch Dom who just appears to exist in every scene he's in. The second difference is that it's not very good. Love's direction is the epitome of style over substance, opting for an over-stylised imagining of 1980s Britain complete with neon lights, a nostalgic soundtrack, and a never-ending slew of tracksuits that look like they were produced in a Haribo factory. The script is also significantly lighter with several comic relief moments scattered around an otherwise dark story. While this may make for a more visually appealing and accessible film, it loses the savagery and sense of urgency that Clarke's original had. It also doesn't help the film that Love seems to be aware that his screenplay is inferior to the source material, with key scenes from the original being replicated seemingly beat for beat and inserted clumsily into the narrative when it begins to falter. Aside from Paul Anderson's Bex, none of the performances are particularly standout, with Daniel Mays completely wasted as Bex's rival, Yeti, who is more or less completely side-lined throughout the film. Overall, Love's remake is an ambitious attempt to update a somewhat dated story for a contemporary audience which ultimately hits the goalposts.

Its not Gary Oldman, its not got the same menace as the TV play...but clothes, attitude, music, is more how I remember the period...deerstalkers, stanleys, and farah slacks, Oldman's original crew looked nothing like casuals, regardless of how well it was acted...for that this version gets 6/10 though the TV play is still far superior as a film.

So far, the film is a bit clichéd and over the top but there is a good deal of warmth and humour love brings to the film. Though I have not seen the original, nick love efforts should not go unnoticed as a director.

It has no soul, no heart. It's empty, absolutely one of the worst films I've ever seen.

You can't help but compare it against the original, but even taken in isolation this stinks to high heaven.

Several scenes stand out for a complete lack of any actual emotion, and for a subject that's suppose to be about intensity, just that raw emotion, that's really quite staggering !! How any film with such a passionate subject could somehow manage to completely avoid invoking any passion - I just can't describe. It's like it was made as some sort of joke, perhaps ?

The fight scenes are a ham-fisted joke, the confrontation between Snowy and Bex actually had me laughing it was so awful.

"Put your hands together for..... Stanley" ?

It's the nearest to a round of applause this tripe will ever see.

Absolutely awful - all involved should be thoroughly ashamed.

If you're a film student perhaps, it's worth a look. File under "How not to do it".

first of all, the original firm is impossible to top, to start with - so why remake it in the first place?

this film is predictable, as is the message, but its also boring! i gave it 3 stars for the music, the cool clothes and that danny dwyer wasn't in this one (probably turned it down though)! nick love should have just tried and make a documentary about firms in the 80s, instead of remaking the same film over and over again. in my opinion, the only reason why he made this film is so that he could keep all the denim in the end. they should have made a film about the German world cup, when lots of frustrated wannabee hooligans started beating up each other when there was just no one to fight with...I'd like to see that!

please no more films about guy-love by nick love! thanks

Why would anyone want to re-make Alan Clarke's The Firm? I don't think Alan Clarke would've liked this rubbish at all. It is an insult to his work. And you cannot replace Gary Oldman, he was great as Bex. The other bloke was pathetic! The original 'The firm' was a great film with some great British actors in it. Alan Clarke was a great director and there was no need to have a go at re-makin this film. Scum was a classic, I bet Nick Love wouldn't fancy re-makin that (actualy, some one has re made that film in America and called it 'Dog Pound' Unfortunately). Also I don't remember anyone wearin a full yellow Tachini (sorry, probably haven't spelt that right) track suit in the 80s or those stupid shorts he had on in the club at the beginnin. It was just dreadful. I really had to force myself to watch it right until the end.

After seeing some magazine articles about the film I was full of hope that this may be the best football hoolie film yet and certainly give a 'truer' representation of what life was like following football in the early eighties. Unfortunately, the reality is that it really carries no direction, you don't really find out anything about any of the characters and the lack of violence doesn't do the film any favours. Gary Oldman was a real 'psycho' in the original, Paul Anderson does a reasonable job but just wasn't menacing enough. The fight scenes were very poor, showing stand offs rather than actual fighting, that just wasn't what happened when two firms arranged a meet in the 80's. The music bought back a few memories and the best part of the film was the clothing, at least they got that right to a certain extent with Sergio, Fila, Ellesse and Pringle getting a good showing. Overall, it's a watchable film but it's not a great football film, not a lot of action and it isn't the best hooligan film to date, the original still takes that accolade. It's a shame but I don't think the original 'Firm' is likely to be beaten.

An extremely accurate and authentic portrayal of what life is in the UK. The biggest question that films like this, green street etc leave me asking is..why on earth is the UK NOT considered a 3rd world country? It has no system of law and order, a justice system that has no concept of punishment and a police force who peruse speeding motorists with pure aggression and casually ignore rape and robbery. A society whose dependency on alcohol and violence has some balls calling countries with a marginally lower GDP ' 3rd world' . It is without question, the most violent, backward and dangerous country on the face of the planet with a 'legal' infrastructure.

This film has tried to be as evocative as the northern classic AWAYDAYS by trying to repeat the same fashion/music/male relationships package. Except the fashion looks really uncool ( except for the Adidas ), the music is what my little sister liked at the time ( Soul disco!?!) and the male relationships are totally one-dimensional. It was apparently a big budget compared to AWAYDAYS but felt more like an Eastenders episode.I think Nick Love has got some real talent in there as he seems to understand what the average Joe wants to see. But he needs some support from some decent stylists not to make some dumb decisions. Still better than most drab UK indie fare though.