Green Street Hooligans

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved this movie. I've been waiting for it to come out in DVD in the United States for a very long time and I was amazed that the movie lived up to my high expectations.

Reading through the comments others have made about this movie, I was shocked that so many people hated it. It seems that many people, mostly Brits, hated the movie because they didn't think it was realistic enough, there were too many clichés, and because Charlie Hunnam's impression of a cockney accent wasn't very good.

I don't get it. First off, this is a fictional movie, not a documentary. I thought the plot of this movie was very compelling. Yes, you do have to suspend your disbelief a bit, but you have to do that for almost every movie made. Some folks simply could not accept Elijah Wood as a tough guy. I agree that it's difficult to picture Frodo as a tough guy, but I thought he did a very good job. I also thought Charlie Hunnam was OUTSTANDING. He has an incredible screen presence and I look forward to seeing him in future movies. Mark Warren was also great. In fact, the entire supporting cast was great in this film. Claire Forlani was great, Leo Gregory was fantastic, all of the guys that played Pete's friends were great (even the guy that played Tommy Hatcher was perfect). GREAT performances all around!!!

This is a great film. I've already ordered a copy for my DVD collection. I've seen it three times and I will watch it again when my copy arrives. It's that good! I give it an 8 out of 10.

This was my favorite movie back in my teens, I still love it and I always will but I do acknowledge it's not perfect. The acting is sometimes way over the top and Charlie Hunnam's London accent is worse than mine and I'm not even a native speaker. The story is simple yet appealing, it's easy to get invested into it. The unlikely event that an American Harvard student moves to London and becoming a football/soccer hooligan is oddly appealing and it made me curious as to what's gonna happen next. I was not completely sold on the drama elements but what this movie lacks in complexity it makes up for in entertainment value. When I saw this for the first time I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie.

If you looking for popcorn entertainment this is the movie for you.

If you looking for a deep story that will stick with you, you may wanna look elsewhere.

Hopefully this film will not be limited in its reception as a "sport" film, and more disparagingly in America as a "soccer" film. It is much more than either distinction, for it portrays the transformational awakening of a young man as he becomes proactive rather than reactive about life.

This transition occurs within the often misunderstood culture of "football hooligans", hordes of zealous football fans who display a jingoistic allegiance to their teams and the locale from which they hail. The insight provided into this world reveals more than gang triviality for these men do not compete for the sake of criminal enterprise or the carnal spoils of women. Their skirmishes, often times brutal, are for stake in a sense of pride that reminds us that athletes put glory in our sport, but for some fans, glory is the sport. That pride, as it is conveyed, does well to offset the characterization of drunken recklessness that could easily be assessed to "hooliganism".

I highly recommend this film --- it's not "soccer". It's awakening to self.

5 Stars; A truly great film, with a powerful story. Beautifully photographed, in London, Wow! The audience was quickly involved, and laughed, started, and gave a standing ovation at the end. Truly a complete film, thank you for having a real ending to the film, which is so rare these days. Never apologize for this film, it is loving, stark, caring, hard, honest, violent, and beautiful. It touches the emotions, and the feeling of not belonging that exists within many of us, and that longing for love and brotherhood, that is not available without some dire costs. The characters were so clearly human, powerful and conflicted one was drawn to care for everything that happened to them and cheer at their triumphs and sit in horror at their losses.

I have recommended that everyone see this film during SXSW. My wife and I were expecting an audience award for the film, which it easily won, however the Jury Award was also won and we were give true appreciation for the jury system at SXSW.

Beautiful photographed, with outstanding music, this production hits all the marks out of the ballpark and should be studied for how powerful film today could be. This is the level of film making I aspire to achieve.

I saw this at a mystery preview screening where I didn't know what film was going to be shown. Sometimes these previews turn out to be real turkeys but thankfully that wasn't the case this time.

Without revealing too much of the story, Elijah Wood's character gets kicked out of Harvard for a drug offence he didn't commit. He flies to London to visit his sister and quickly gets caught up in a small group of West Ham United supporting hooligans called the Green Street Elite.

The film does slightly glamorise the violence, but ends on a moralising note. An engaging storyline, good cinematography and decent cast performances make this a very enjoyable film.

Two minor demerits: 1) Charlie Hunnam's "cor blimey guv'nor" accent owes more to Dick van Dyke than London's East End.

2) To establish that Wood's character has landed in London, we hear this frankly ridiculous message over the airport's PA system - "this is a security announcement at London Heathrow airport". Presumably this was inserted for the hard of thinking.

To all the Americans who have commented that they'd avoid British football matches as a result of this film, I point out that this film is fiction - not a documentary. Hooligans are an absolutely tiny minority of the crowd at a football match and even then they invariably only fight among themselves rather than randomly attacking innocent members of the public (something the film accurately portrayed).

All in all, an excellent film, worth going to see.