"Red Card." Did you know that the great British film Lexi Alexander “Hooligans from Green Street” has a sequel? Not one, but two! Although the first part did not find commercial success, the sequel “Hooligans” was released 5 years later, in 2009, and the third part reached the audience only in 2013 – om. But let’s leave the talk about the third part for later, it is worth starting a conversation about the second one, where it is not the cast and not the directorship, but the country of production (USA), a huge budget in the form of $ 8 million, the lack of people who should be trusted (in this case it is the same Lexie Alexander, Dougie Brimson, left in the credits as executive producers). Perhaps the lack of knowledgeable, talented people in the chair of the director and screenwriters, very strongly affected the film itself, which is why it is simply not possible to call it the second part.
After ardent West Ham United fans start a bloody fight in prison with other fans, they are transferred to a new, harsher place of detention. If then, the trio of friends - fans felt more - less comfortable, then here the danger hovers absolutely everywhere, especially around the gang of Millwall fans who are not only strong physically and in football, but are under the care of the chief overseer.
Not the best sequel is directed by Jesse Johnson. The point is not even in statistics, but in quality - the film looks dusty, cheap (despite a decent budget), the theme of football is practically not disclosed and not shown (football players who are constantly running in a cage do not give any impetus), because it is replaced by the prison theme with all its appearance. Johnson shows how difficult it is in prison, shows everyday life, but there is no sense, because the film is not about how life is in prison, even if the topic of football gangs is attracted by the ears. In fairness, we can say that the director is not guilty, because it is not he who commits a huge stupidity, but the screenwriter who invented this “miracle”. T.J. O’Brien wasn’t originally qualified for the role from experience (the only script was written for the 1989 film), so some of that $8 million would have been worth paying to a more talented writer. It is not clear who owns to move the scene to the United States, while leaving the component of British gangs. It is much more important for the author of the script to reveal the topic of prison, how unprofessionally criminals are treated by corrupt guards, than to show the real beauty of football. But here it is worth noting a huge number of blunders and blunders:
A) Why do ardent fans of West Ham, ready to die for their home club, do not know how to play football themselves?
B) It is strange how the prison administration works - the main characters are transported to a new prison, but a few months later, the boss, due to the fact that 70 new "residents" come to his possession, must (cannot, namely, must) release 63 prisoners early! Where's the logic?
B) Where does the whole movie go with security? It is clear that part just sits on handouts, but either according to the script of O’Brienan, or by the magic of the editor Carey Coughlin, the guards of order, except Arthur and that evil, are shown extremely rarely (and then in the form of running, exhausted fools).
D) The final football match is not a football match, but a Mortal Kombat. The judge does not care that the attacker was punched in the face or charged from the foot in the chest. The question is – why is there a referee at all, if during the whole match he never whistled and judged, frankly, not very well?
In any case, all on the conscience of the screenwriter, who was supposed to shoot the sequel to “Hooligans”, and received a remake of “Costoloma” with Vinnie Jones. Boring, weak, completely uninteresting scenario, where the sequel is associated with the original only by the choice of your favorite team. It doesn’t matter if the cameraman Jonathan Hall works, because he has no choice but to film prison life, not football battles (a few scenes are well done). The color scheme is very dusty, there is no style inherent in the first film, where the atmosphere of a foggy Albion was felt. Good music Terence Jay (the only one who, in addition to executive producers associated with the original) is more tied not to his own compositions, but to the symbolic British tracks of boy bands. It was not bad, especially in the final scene, which involved a lot of extras and beer bottles.
About the cast did not have much steam - shaved everyone. No matter how the actors played, no matter how they tried to create the right image and attract attention, the sympathy of the audience for themselves, this task was not fulfilled. Who is really missing here is the same Winnie Jones, he gave the film the necessary structure, cruelty, a few catch phrases that help raise the score by 1-2 points. I liked the calm play of Timothy V. Murphy, his character, albeit in the frame does not linger, but he is good, in a sense key. Not bad managed to play the madman Mark Graham McTavish. From the weaker stands out the game of Treva Etienne in the role of Arutre - despite the decent time given to the hero, high official position over the prisoners, he, although realizing the venality of many colleagues, does nothing, just sometimes saves the main characters, runs there - here, but to report to the boss about the lawlessness is not bothered. The average cast, where there are their heroes, and someone is trying to sit on the bench.
Total:
Hooligans 2 isn’t the real Bullies! Cheap, dusty, boring, unnecessary movie with the title of the great movie of 2004. The film requires major repairs in the form of a talented hand of an experienced screenwriter and not a bad director. Alas, but the advantages are not many: two or three moments, a good performance of several actors and musical accompaniment. I will not recommend the film, you will be disappointed. This phrase should be squared by fans of the first film and fans of a similar style. If you want to get acquainted with Johnson’s film, you better watch The Bonfire with Vinnie Jones, it is much better, more interesting.
Thank you for listening!