ID2: Shadwell Army

...to see two sub-genres disappear into the mist of time. The 'Geezer-Geezer-have-aword-wiv-yerself-Gangster film' and the 'Isn't Football Violence Terrible? let's wallow in some film' ID2 is a waste of digital space, making no useful contribution. It is a wonderful example, however, of the 10/10 IMDB review from users who mysteriously only feel the need to join the site and review one film in their lives. Strange. Perhaps DVDs and BluRays should credit these people on the crew list, y'know in the interest of transparent.

There's no point in saying much about this film, just watch ID, the Original 1995 movie, this isn't a worthy of the name! Pretty awful idea of the 2nd, 20 years later.

It retains almost nothing of the first. If only Gumbo.

For those of you who remember the mid-nineties hooligan film ID, forget it, this is so loosely related they may as well have just called it Shadwell Army.

There's a couple of decent performances (Pearson csn play a smarmy guy like no other) but fundamentally there is nothing that stands out or makes you remember the actor or the character. The story has some good ideas, but the 3xecution lacks something, and it feels like a made for TV movie.

You're much better off watching the original or investing your time in Footsoldier or Green Street.

If you like the original movie, don't bother with this very loosely connected sequel. Unlike the original, this movie has nothing to say. The only reason I watched it is because it was included on the I.D. blu-ray.

There is no build up. The main character (a generous use of that word) goes into a pub and talks to a stand up comedian, and bam, four minutes into the movie he's part of the hooligans. It wasn't until after the film was finished and I watched the making of documentary that I realized that the stand up comedian was one of the four policemen from the original movie, something which was never established in the movie.

Remember the original where it was imperative for the policemen to establish trust with the hooligans, pretending to be painters having lunch in the pub to get of first name basis with the staff etc? No time for that here, we have to get to the poorly executed fight scenes quickly!

This movie neither a police procedural, nor a thriller or character study. It's amateur hour all the way through. It boggles the mind that this movie was written by the same person who wrote the original. And I have no idea who the director is, but if this movie is representative of his work, I have zero interest in watching another movie by that guy.

The only thing I liked in this movie was the exchange between the right wing extremist politician and his dunce of a brown shirt storm trooper. It beautifully sums up the schizophrenia in the extreme right.

Ok so nothing is going to beat the original. Yes it's low budget but the script and acting make the plot plausible. Give it a shot for an enjoyable trip down memory Lane with Gumbo.