Green Street Hooligans (2005)

Great Idea but fell Short

I thought this was a great idea for a movie. I love English football and am familiar with the hooligan issue which made me excited to see it. There are segments in the film that were just great, but, overall, it was too melodramatic for my tastes. Further, the film was a bit clichéd. Elijah Wood plays the classic fatherless son who seeks guidance and affirmation from a gang (which, of course, is precisely what often occurs). The subplot of the privileged politician's son setting him up was again over familiar as was another substrain wherein his sister's husband got married and--yet again!--managed to morph a bad man straight. That was a dubious proposition indeed. As far as the acting goes I thought Charles Hunnam was sensational, but could not buy Wood as (even) a semi-tough firm member. Frodo came off as weak and fragile here. It's hard to suspend belief that he would be anything but dead in a real fight. I was pleased to see though that Tony Adams was given a cameo role. June 24, 2008

Good Will Hunting in Reverse. (dvd features below)

In Good Will Hunting (Miramax Collector's Series), Matt Damon's character, Will, goes from a street tough Boston kid working as a custodian at Harvard to realizing his genius. In Green Street Hooligans Elijah Wood's character Matt Buckner goes from promising undergrad at Harvard with two months left to street tough kid in London. I know what your thinking, Elijah Wood, as a tough guy, give me a break, and although he doesn't exactly pull it off greatly it doesn't distract from the movie. Picture the part in Good Will Hunting towards the beginning when Will and his friends get into a brawl in the park and Gerry Rafferty's song Baker Street is playing, Green Street Hooligans is basically that on and off for the whole movie.
Matt takes the fall for something his roommate did, figuring his family being rich and powerful there wouldn't be a point in putting up a fight and gets expelled. He travels to London to visit his sister and her family which he hasn't met yet. Soon Matt gets involved with his sisters husbands brother Pete Dunham played by Charlie Hunnam. Hummam brings a charismatic swagger to his character which makes him a convincing and believable leader in the film. Pete Dunham is a history teacher by profession, but his main priority is leading his soccer firm the GSE (Green Street Elite). Soccer firms are groups of friends kind of like gangs that support their teams, watch their friends backs, drink beer, and build their reputations usually from fighting and humiliating other firms. Think an unconscious version of Fight Club (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) with soccer hoods that have various professional day jobs. The GSE's main rival is Millwall, Matt asks like the Yankees and the Red Sox? Pete replies more like the Israelis and Palestinians. Mainly the movie is trying to say stand your ground but ultimately know when to fight and when to walk away.
The movie is pretty unrealistic in a way which anyone that has been in a few fights can attest to. For example these guys pound on each other and break bottles over each others heads yet all of their bruises are in an attractive kind of way via the cut above the eye with blood just trickling down while you look all intense. Also, they drink tons of brew but are all in shape or have chiseled abs. I imagine the real GSE to have missing teeth, disfigured noses, and beer bellies. Still, Green Street Hooligans is a cool and entertaining movie.

DVD Features:
-The Making of Hooligans
-Terence Jay One Blood Music Video (good song)
June 13, 2008

I just love it.

I wish I could describe things the way many reviewers do, but in all honesty there is one main connection for my recommending this movie. If you love Boondock Saints, you'll love this movie just as much. You don't need to love soccer, or any of the actors listed - it's just a good flick with believable fight scenes and a great story on trying your feet on new soil. May 9, 2008

Footie Fans Unite

If you follow football, then this movie is most assuredly the movie for you. Although, the main topic of the movie isn't football, it's the football fans. You know the ones I'm talking about, the crazy fans that get in your face, or most likely get arrested at the matches. This movie shows the side of them that you don't really see. It shows the organization behind the craziness. You've heard of Hooliganism, this movie shows it at it's core. (with substitutions for all around general violence) But you do get somewhat of an insight into the life of a hooligan. This movie has indubitably been bumped up to one of my all time favourites. April 26, 2008

Surprising how caught up you get in something like this.

Which, I think, is the point of the film itself. I usually avoid violent movies, if I know ahead of time they will be violent. I wanted very much to see Charlie Hunnam in this though, so I rented it. I had to laugh when I found myself hoping someone would kill off one particular little traitor in the film. I just completely got swept up in it. I so wish I'd known about this one when it was in the theatres as I'm sure I would have seen it there more than once.

Pete (Charlie Hunnam) charms his way into your heart within his first two minutes of screen time. Matt (Elijah Wood) and almost all the rest are surprisingly easy to relate to and like. You're rooting for GSE and totally invested in what's going on almost before you know it.

I did not see the Lord of the Rings movies, so I didn't have to overcome any preconceived notions to enjoy Elijah Woods' performance. He's unassuming and completely believable as Matt. Charlie Hunnam, however, does a phenomenal job and really makes the movie. His stance, walk, look, accent, everything is different in this film and it works really well. I cannot wait to see him as the lead in something else.

Until then, I'll happily keep watching this one. I've already ordered my own copy to keep.

Great movie all around - fun, exciting, touching, and makes you think and feel long after it's over. Excellent performances. It's just very, very well done.

As for the violence, I only had to turn away briefly during the final fight scene. I'm a softie anyway and it got to me, but that's possibly due more to emotional attachment to the characters than to the violence itself. So, if you're hesitating for that reason, don't worry. You definitely want to see this. April 22, 2008

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