The Rise & Fall of a White Collar Hooligan (2012) User Reviews

Not bad, worth a watch - don't expect much.

[January39 · 6/10 · 27 July 2012]

I quite liked this, it had a dark feel to it which reminded me of other films in this kind of genre. The problem i had was that the characters did not just fit - is this guy a footy hooligan, loving boyfriend or loathsome fraudster. Yes, i guess you could say all 3 but honestly...? i don't think they pulled it off, same applies for his 'supervisor' - really?

When the gang lord (Guvnor, boss, top man we are told)gives him a gun he does not blink, but later he moans he has never needed a gun nor used one and it frightened him - seemed quick enough to slid it in the back of his trousers first time though without a hitch or thought (surely anyone who has never held a gun would say remark how heavy they are??)

Aspects of the film were very clichéd particularly the dialogue, do gangsters really speak to each like that, i have no idea, but it must get boring quick if they do...

Overall, worth a watch but don't expect Snatch or something as this is not that, it stands up well but ultimately heads into well travelled land.

The footy film is a weak link at best, it defo plays second fiddle to the credit card fraud. Maybe the title needs a change? I could barely see the link (again characters did not fit for me)

6/10 for me.

Misleading title

[zombie-28 · 5/10 · 11 September 2012]

I couldn't resist this as I watch most of the 'geezer' movies that come out. Firstly the title is very confusing. The main character isn't white collar, and his hooligan activities are limited to a short montage in the opening 5 minutes. What it's really about is an unemployed thug joining a credit card cloning racket and rising through the ranks before the inevitable crash. The story more or less follows the trajectory of 'Goodfellas' but obviously no where near as slick of well written. Some of the dialogue is straight out of the 'Football Factory' book and gets far to close to the embarrassment of Danny Dyer's forced tones. The music is also woeful and inappropriate. That said, the credit card scam sections are quite entertaining in a limited beer & curry night kind of way. In closing, I don't know what you would expect from a film entitled 'Fall and Rise of a White Collar Hooligan' but what you get is a flawed low budget crime drama with some limited interesting parts. 5/10

The Hooligangster film that started it all

[daniel-mannouch · 6/10 · 27 April 2017]

Since i have slagged off Press on Features considerably in my previous reviews, i feel i should make it clear for clarity's sake that not all of their output has been drab and vanilla waste as i've hinted at previously. Look no further than at what i guess what you could call their most iconic release, a Poundland staple, Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan.

Released at a time when both the gangland and Hooligan genres were in decline, this film combined the two, cleverly, admittedly, as a way to pick up the scraps of niche interest left over from the early 2000's. The result was an exploitation (and not the last one) of a true life account of a credit card fraudster with an "oh so indeed" frustratingly misleading title slapped on and the new wave of low budget Brit crime cinema crashed into our supermarkets. The Hooligangster film had arrived and has not left since.

So, enough history, how's the film itself? Not bad. The quintessential low budget DV-era crime film. It has a clear idea of what it is and rarely bandies about with bringing the goods, all budgetary restrictions considered. Nick Nevern serves well as the small fish, big pond hood and is additionally served well by a good supporting turn by Simon Phillips and a well-balanced script that never struggles for politicisation and instead settles with sympathy for our protagonists.

The clue is in the title. They are just atypical white collar guys, like the intended audience, who happen to embark on this underworld odyssey. There is really not a bad turn in this by anyone in this really. Unadventurous or safe yes, but never disastrous or insipid. It's a story that keeps your interest despite lacking the bombast of the more notable entries it apes consistently throughout the running time.

Is it the best of it's kind? Maybe. Taking into consideration that it spawned a trilogy of steady quality, it's hard to argue anything of it's kind matches it in success. But with the increasingly ambitious (and enjoyable) works of the likes of Nicholas Winter and Terry Lee Coker upcoming, it might be only a matter of time before a new style establishes itself and closes over this fine ride of austerity era gangster fantasy.

Bad film all over.

[tseepra · 2/10 · 8 July 2012]

I love hooligan films, Green Street Hooligans (2005), The Football Factory (2004), The Firm (2009), even Rise of the Footsoldier (2007) and Cass (2008).

But this film is just bad. It uses hooliganism as a crutch for a bad plot. Nothing of interest happens in the movie. Like a previous reviewer said, it's a sub par gangster movie, lacking creativity and realism.

The only reason it relates to hooliganism is that the two main characters meet at a football match. I would not recommend this movie to anyone.

I've seen a lot worse

[wezzauk · 7/10 · 26 December 2012]

Having read the negative reviews on here I decided to have a punt on the film anyway as it was on Netflix and I was just vegging out. After watching the film I had to fire up my Macbook and write a review myself as I feel the negatives on here are a little too harsh on this film.

Lets get something straight from the off, Rise & Fall of A White Collar Hooligan (RFWCH) is not in the same league as Snatch, Lock Stock, The Football Factory or Dead Man's Shoes for example, However Millwall are not in the same league as Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal but that has never stopped me from watching and supporting them, and I have seen some absolutely fantastic Millwall matches over the years.

RFWCH has been criticised on here for its dialogue, which some have referred to as clichéd, but having grown up in Bermondsey and The surrounding areas of South London I can assure you that a lot of men from there and other parts of London speak exactly as depicted in this film, when they are around other men. Would they sit at Sunday Dinner and Ask "F***ing Lovely Roast Mum, Now could you pass me the salt please you F***ing C***" of course they wouldn't. And neither do the characters in this film. The language used is in the context of the conversation they are having and the person they are conversing with.

Personally I found the film to be an easy watch, containing characters that you cared enough about to want to know how it turned out for them. The acting was good, the script was clichéd but good enough (much better than the rubbish the writers on Eastenders have been turning out and getting paid for recently) and the plot was your average Gangster fare with a believable scam rife with the problems that crime must ultimately bring.

Billy Murray was Billy Murray, Ricci Harnett made a decent transition from head stomping Carlton Leach in rise of the foot soldier to a Detective, and relative newcomer Nick Nevern did a pretty good job in the Main role. Rita Ramnani did a fair job of Playing Nick Nevern's girlfriend and Simon Phillips played Eddie Hill relatively well. The biggest let down of the Cast for me was Roland Manookian. People regularly criticise Danny Dyer for being a one trick pony yet for me Roland Manookian simply plays Zebedee in most of the films he's in (there are one or two exceptions).

So to summarise; Its not the greatest film you're ever going to see but if you have an hour and fifteen minutes to kill and you like British Geezer films you wont be disappointed with this film. Believe me I have seen a lot worse than this!

Wes Fazzani

Another poor effort

[davebest2001 · 2/10 · 6 July 2012]

My God. Another year, and another sloppy gangster flick comes our way. You are given the impression that this is on a level with Rise Of The Footsoldier because it also stars Billy Murray, Ricci Harnett and Roland Manookian, but you'd be very much mistaken. This is a very insulting film. It's only 75 minutes long, and the plot and level of violence in it are very slight indeed. The plot revolves around a team of pass card skimmers making big money for a Mr Big. When the main protagonist gets arrested in France, it sets in motion a series of events that lead to him wanting to quit the gang. However, it's never that simple. By the end of this film when the credits are going up, you are left asking yourself "Is that it ?". It must have been filmed in one afternoon. It's just not good enough. Lord knows if it went straight to video or appeared in a cinema. I'd feel conned if I paid a tenner to see this rubbish

Sweet as a nut

[alan_holloway_2 · 7/10 · 4 July 2012]

The "Geezer" film has become a staple of the British Film Industry in the last 15 years or so, popularized by the likes of Guy Ritchgie and then carried on in films dealing with either football hooliganism, violent crime, or both.

"The Rise & Fall Of A White Collar Hooligan" doesn't offer us much new, to be honest, but does it's job as well as can be expected. We get your typical footie loving hooligan Mike, played very well by Nick Nevern, who can't get a job in these disparate times etc etc. He's fixed up by fellow footie battler Eddie (an excellent turn from Simom "Jack Falls" Phillips) who introduces him to the world of organized credit card fraud. From here on, we follow his crime career with plenty of swearing and some, but not too much, violence.

It's a good film that builds its characters well, using two of the better up and coming Geezer actors of recent years. the old school is represented by Billy Murray, playing his usual type, but the main focus is on the two leads, who carry the film with style. Oddly, the football element does not sit with the rest of the film, and as it doesn't advance either plot or character could be erased without any detrimental effect to the film as a whole. So, not up there with "Rise Of The Foot Soldier", but worth your time if that's your idea of a good night in.... geezer!

Embarrassing and clichéd

[barkingmad-hound · 1/10 · 18 May 2013]

The back-story had potential, but the poor script and clichéd scenes ruined it! The main character's voice over has been done to death, and some potential comedy one liners were just cringe worthy. Every word is a swear word, not sure people really speak to each other like that, and the acting is mediocre at best, the girlfriend is as wooden as a park bench and delivers her lines like a robot... the main character who narrates the story is probably the best actor.

The hooligan link is quite meaningless and adds absolutely no value to the story, except that the guy meets the main character when they're getting involved in brawls. However, as they're trying to keep a low profile, I would say having rucks in streets isn't the best way to go below the radar.

If you need cheering up, watch for comedy value if nothing else.

A great British crime thriller

[almar-6 · 7/10 · 12 July 2012]

I admit it, I'm not exactly the biggest football fan out there. So, when I sat down to watch this film I wasn't expecting it to be my cup of tea, but I couldn't have been more wrong. WHITE COLLAR HOOLIGAN is a brilliant crime thriller that, I thought, was very well made. The directing and acting here are equally excellent and really keeps you hooked to the screen. All the characters are highly believable and you'll no doubt find yourself empathising with them as things just keep getting worse and worse.

I can recommend this movie not just to football fans - the film's obvious audience - but also those, like myself, who enjoy the rush of a great crime thriller. Lots of swearing, violence and drama. Great stuff!

A waste of time and money

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 2 September 2015]

THE RISE AND FALL OF A WHITE COLLAR HOOLIGAN is an odd attempt to mix two popular straight-to-DVD sub-genres: the London gangster flick and the London football hooligan flick. The resultant film is an entire mess of a production, with little discernible story, more clichés than you can shake a stick at, and an almost entire lack of coherence.

The narrative involves a thuggish football hooligan type - a knuckle-dragger with zero charisma and yes, he's the protagonist - who finds himself involved in a new job as a courier, delivering computer technology around the city. His boss is played by Simon Phillips, who still hasn't got any more charisma than he had in JACK FALLS. Everyone's favourite Cockney stereotype Billy Murray appears in support as some kind of crime kingpin.

The story is a never-ending mess of random street fights and violence mixed out with some excruciating melodrama involving various love interests. There's a trip to France and a spell in prison, and a twist ending of sorts, but it's all completely horrible, of course, and almost entirely without merit.

a solid British gangster movie based on a true story

[daworldismine · 8/10 · 19 October 2012]

im a huge fan of British gangster movies, especially the gritty one's like 'rise of the footsoldier' 'bonded by blood' 'the crew' 'clubbed' and 'the take', and although this movie isn't as good as any of them, its still a well made, and very enjoyable gangster movie, now anybody expecting a football hooligan film, will be very disappointed, as there is none here, a couple of scenes at the beginning, this is really more like 'rise of the footsoldier' in that it's one man's descent into the murky life of gangland, and the bad that comes with that. at 80 minutes long, its certainly not an epic, but the story is well told and the film well made, the cast are good enough, and the soundtrack is good too, the movie is quite violent at times, but nothing that compares to 'footsoldier' and 'bonded by blood'. i cant wait for there new film ' the fall of the essex boys' as they certainly know how to craft a good gangland thriller.

A crime story, nothing to do with hooligans

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 27 February 2015]

"The rise and fall of a white collar hooligan". When you read a title like that, and with a movie poster of a hooligan holding a baseball bat then you obviously think you are going to watch a hooligan movie. So I was surprised it was not that at all. The only thing that can be matched to hooliganism in this story is that two of the main characters know each other from football. You only see like one or two fights, even if those scenes I would not call them hooligan fights. The movie is just a crime story about credit card fraud and gangster stuff in London. The story is actually not that bad, and the actors neither, it's just that I was expecting something else. All in all it's worth a watch but just don't expect hooligan stuff.

Did have potential but gets very little right

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 10 June 2013]

The idea while not the most original was interesting and could have been a decent movie if done right. Sadly, apart from Nick Nevern's intensely brooding lead performance, there is little that is right about The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan. The movie is not exactly amateurish to look at strictly speaking but it does have a rather drab look to it, there are scenes where it is good to have it but the scam/thriller moments were in serious need of more slickness. The soundtrack is not fitting at all and as music is dull and not memorable in the slightest. The dialogue is embarrassingly ham-fisted and while the swearing was appropriate within the type of movie it was the use of it was overkill, literally every other word. There is a little bit of violence, though surprisingly not particularly much. Considering the brutality of the language, you'd think the violence would match that, I personally was surprised at how played too safe it seemed. The very cobbled-together story handles the various themes(which it doesn't balance particularly well) with no depth to it and it all seemed rather half-hearted, not only that but for a 75 minute movie there wasn't anywhere near enough story to sustain it and to make up for it there are a lot of padded clichéd scenes. There are no characters to properly root for, they are so generic and parody-like, and apart from Nevern the acting comprises of actors who play themselves(Billy Murray), use forced delivery(Roland Manookian) or who can't do anything with their roles(pretty much everybody else). To conclude, decent potential that goes nowhere. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Typical Englosh Crime Movie? 3/10

[leonblackwood · 3/10 · 3 August 2013]

Review: I was really expecting this movie to be about football violence, but it turned out to be about credit card fraud, which was a bit strange. The acting wasn't the best but the storyline wasn't too bad. I liked the chemistry between the 2 main characters, but it was boring in parts. In all, the movie was pretty average and totally nothing to so with football.

Round-Up: I wasn't impressed with Nick Nervern's acting in G.B.H. and I personally think that the film would have been much better if they would have chosen a different leading actor. Simon Phillips, who plays his partner in crime, played his part well, but it still has that East End feel with all of the swearing and crime. I hope that the sequel brings more substance and originality.

Budget: $1million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who like there English crime movies with a touch of violence. 3/10

less than expected

[ops-52535 · 5/10 · 22 January 2019]

This is definately a crime movie, far away from hooliganism as we know it, its about scams,leaking your and mine accounts, snitching,high flying lifestyle, a little bit of beating, a narrow story told by the main carachter, its main stream english ganglionism, made a bit more eatable for the layman,and for sure will dissapoint the squemish high violent brittish gangster movie fan. lots of bad language there is but thats also the most offensive in this flick. its like a hard boiled fist fighting,can throwing hooligan...... toothless.

Everyone's a little bit tasty my son....

[FlashCallahan · 5/10 · 10 December 2013]

When unemployed soccer hooligan Mike Jacobs encounters an old friend during a bloody pre-match brawl, he finds the answer to his problems .

But its a job involving credit card fraud.

Before long, the fast paced world of easy money and beautiful women descends into a violent struggle for survival...

If you are expecting anything subtle, or classy, look at the title again. It explains what the content of the film will be, but surprisingly, football has very little to do with the actual narrative.

Yes, there are a couple of football matches that take place in the film, and the head honcho was ex-firm, but the film centres around a bloke who's voice sounds like he'd make a good narrator for a 'Britains Toughest....' DVD, and the japes his mates get up to.

If your used to Danny Dyer movies, various films about Essex Boys, and just typical Brit movies with lots of Effin and Jeffin in, you've come to the right place.

It tries to be something clever, something different, but comes full circle to the curse of Lock, Stock. Always trying to better that blueprint.

Its watchable guff though, and it looks good, but you've seen it so many times before, you'll feel like you've already seen it....

Quality Bruv

[sexy_kas · 9/10 · 12 July 2012]

Let's be honest here, we churn out quite a few gangster/crime movies over here in Britain and many of these are utter tosh... But please keep an open mind because The rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan is fresh, fast paced, funny, violent exciting AND it's a true story.. So what more could you want?!

OK a few more sex scenes would have been a bonus but that's a minor gripe and an irrelevant one really as this film focuses on the crime being put into operation by gangsters. This theme is both original and cleverly handled. I won't give details about what it is you'll have to watch it to find out! A special mention to Nick Nevern and Simon Phillips who have great on screen chemistry in a bromancey sorta way. Billy Murray does what he does best and is an intimidating and necessary evil. All in all it's money very well spent. When you consider the amount of rubbish on the T.V. this film is more than worth investing in you'll watch it again and again - it's a film where there are certain classic lines that you'll be repeating to your mates. Do yourself a favour and get on it! It's an insight to a fascinating world that is going on around us all...

Wasn't as bad as i thought

[djkbee · 8/10 · 22 October 2012]

Watched this one on a whim simply because it was lying around close to me on a boring day... did i expect it to be decent?...maybe. Did i expect it to be as good as i thought (8 out of 10) NO! This was a pleasant surprise for me - its not solely football based...in fact its not football hooligan based at all bar a couple scenes. Its more about credit card fraud done by a group of guys who also like the odd bit of football hooliganism. It made a change after seeing so many football based films like Firm, Football Factory, Green Street etc. The credit card fraud storyline works... its a thought out scam that you can imagine working and the storyline kept me watching without wanting to turn off. I see this has a lot of general negative reviews on here and i really don't think it deserves it. A solid 7 for me.

HE PAYS YOU IN CASH?

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 22 April 2018]

Mike Jacobs (Nick Nevern) has fallen on hard times. His friend Eddie (Simon Philips) offers him a job as a driver. He reluctantly accepts and wants to be sure he is not running drugs. As it turns out he is part of a credit card ring that steals information, manufactures cards, then uses the ATM machine to extract cash. They are stealing from banks.

The story includes Mike's girlfriend (Rita Ramnani), his love for football, and the involvement of law enforcement because guys putting cards into ATMs, taking out cash, and trying not to get caught doesn't even pass for entertainment on U-Tube.

The film claims it is based on a true story. This is a crime drama light on action but can still hold your interest. 3 1/2 stars.

PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, sex, no nudity.

Excellent

[meldavies74 · 8/10 · 22 November 2021]

Ike Jacobs (Nick Nevern) has fallen on hard times. His friend Eddie (Simon Philips) offers him a job as a driver. He reluctantly accepts and wants to be sure he is not running drugs. As it turns out he is part of a credit card ring that steals information, manufactures cards, then uses the ATM machine to extract cash. They are stealing from banks.

The story includes Mike's girlfriend (Rita Ramnani), his love for football, and the involvement of law enforcement because guys putting cards into ATMs, taking out cash, and trying not to get caught doesn't even pass for entertainment on U-Tube.

The film claims it is based on a true story. This is a crime drama light on action but can still hold your interest. 3 1/2 stars.

ONE OF THE WORST FILMS I HAVE EVER SEEN

[mickgillott · 10 November 2020]

Budget must have been a thousand quid and that Includes all the wages If you choose to watch it don't say I didn't warn you. Worst acting I have ever seen beyond teletubbies.