The Guvnors

Predictable. Contrived. Far-fetched. Ridiculous. Nonsense. And about as detailed and dramatic as this review. It gets a 5 from me though, but only because I've seen worse.

This film has been written off by some lazy press reviewers as just another mockney fighting movie, probably due to its slightly unfortunate title and cover art.

The reality is that couldn't be further from the truth. Although I sat down expecting to watch some kind of sub-Nick Love fluff (which isn't setting the bar very high at all), this was a far better film than I had expected.

The cinematography, music, performances and pacing were all very good, and the story is far from the kind of nonsense you'd associate with most standard football hooligan-style movies. It has nuance, depth and some great twists. It's a proper film, basically, and not just a load of fighting. Though there's a fair amount of that too.

I don't normally write reviews but I felt compelled to defend this movie because on reading some reviews (after I'd seen the film) it seemed that a lot of people had got it completely wrong and probably prejudged it because from a glance at the box, you'd think it was a bit dim. But it isn't.

Good work all round.

Turner writes and directs this passionate movie about football firms and clans of South East London and the interaction of different generations on a violent estate. We follow ex-hooligan Mitch (an impressive Doug Allen channelling a bit of Christian Bale in his performance) whose family life is disrupted when young sadistic Adam (played by Harley Sylvester, one half of pop duo Rizzle Kicks) and his gang of youths terrorise the established order. As Adam slashes and shoots his way to respect, he's taken down a peg or two by the unrecognisable David Essex playing Mickey Senior who once trained Mitch and the old clan. When Adam gets his wild revenge on Mickey, it pulls Mitch out of retirement and back to the brutal and bloody life he left behind before eventually finding out a cruel twist of family fate. From alpha males to unchecked aggression, the film flips between the modern day and flashbacks to Mitch's past which helps explain the different paths of the protagonists. The movie also throws in flashes of comedy amongst the nastiness – a scene with a traffic warden was an hilarious highlight – but the furious flying fists are done with a painful realism which may not be for those with a faint heart. With small but well acted support roles from the likes of Richard Blackwood, Barrington "One Eyed Baz" Patterson (with a real-life past to match the character on-screen) and Vas Blackwood (Lock Stock's Rory Breaker) helping to round out the cast, this slice of street life from the UK gives us some new angles on an established genre plus some funny moments to counteract the knock out fight scenes. With a cool soundtrack and Harley Sylvester showing some impressive acting chops, you may think you know what the film will be about but there's enough new ideas here to shake up your view in this violent thriller. 7.5/10 Midlands Movies Mike

This rewardingly bellicose, Thug-Tastic British gangland thriller is an adrenalized, bloody-knuckled admixture of 'Rise of The Footsoldier' & 'Harry Brown'. When feral, drug-peddling, recklessly razor-slashing horror hoodies seek to annihilate legendary old school terrace titans 'The Guvnors', disgraced, Teflon-tough ex-top boy, Mitch (Doug Allen) reveals his fearsome reputation is well deserved! There's a nihilistic, Droog-like intensity to, Harley Sylvester's cruel, hate-fuelled, dead-eyed delinquency which proved eerily compelling. Gabe Turner's immensely watchable 'The Guvnors' is a polished, convincingly acted, exhilaratingly lively portrayal of the fractious internecine conflict between two rival inner city firms right to rule. While The Guvnor's greatest appeal will be to rabid Thugsploitation junkies, those individuals with a prurient interest in the dodgier denizens of London's more deprived suburbs certainly won't feel cheated.

More often than not, UK urban dramas are far from perfect movies with their search for realism completely backfiring and the finished product can seem over the top. The Guvnors is a story of two South East London gangs, one young and one old who both have their issues and roots to violence and crime.

Mitch, played by Doug Allen is an old school criminal, from a generation past, he no longer takes part in football violence or crime and has settled down in the suburbs with his wife and child. He has lost contact with his old friends from back in his younger days and would rather forget his past. Adam is played by Harley Sylvester (one part of music duo Rizzle Kicks), he is of the current generation of thugs, he lacks the respect that his seniors once had and is very much a street thug who's search to be feared and gain power holds no limits. As Adam and his gang hear of the infamous Guvnors (Mitch and his gang from years ago) they go on a rampage to become the new Guvnors of South East London, something which will bring Mitch out of his comfortable past and back into the violent streets that he left all those years ago.

The plot is pretty standard and there are no major surprises, it's relatively predictable and contains some of the classic clichés you would expect if you're a fan of this genre. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this movie though, the acting was well above average, especially from Harley Sylvester – seeing him talk behind the scenes after watching the movie was surreal as he couldn't have spoken any different than he did for his role! He plays a detestable character with no redeeming qualities and he does it very well. To portray somebody like that you have to be convincing, they have to convince you to hate them and he did a very good job at this. Doug Allen did an OK job also, his character wasn't as strong or extreme but there were a few scenes in which he excelled and that was good to see.

I have read some negative things surrounding the ending of the movie, as this is a spoiler free review I won't comment on it too much but I will still give my opinion. Personally, I found it to be acceptable, maybe it didn't contain the amount of drama people were hoping for or maybe the outcome wasn't what people wanted but I didn't have any issue with it. The very final scene however was a little disappointing and not necessary at all as it did feel a little awkward.

In a story of Last Generations Old vs The Modern Youth, there needed to be a balancing act to keep the realism. The film is based mainly around the youth gang with snippets of the old gang being filtered into the story. It would have been nice to have seen some more shots of the elder gang together but that's just my personal opinion.

Overall, The Guvnors is a solid, low budget, UK Urban movie which is well worth a watch if you are a fan of this genre. Solid acting and decent pacing make it an above average movie for me and I would certainly recommend checking this out if you have a free couple of hours. 7/10