ID2: Shadwell Army

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.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Many years after the events of the original film, the social and political climate of Shadwell has changed considerably, and a new generation of disaffected men has emerged. Mo (Simon Rivers) a British Sikh officer working his way up the ladder in the Met, is the latest charge assigned to infiltrate the ranks of the infamous Shadwell Army gang. He crosses paths with Vinnie (Linus Roache) a fellow undercover officer who's dealing with an extremist far right element of the group, headed by a local politician (Neil Pearson), who is exploiting tensions surrounding the opening of a new mosque in the area.

It's never too late to make a sequel to a film these days, and this follow up to 1995's cult football hooligan drama I.D., is one of many that caught me completely by surprise. Picking a handful of memorable characters from the first film (including Lee Ross as the impaired simpleton Gumbo) whilst completely leaving out a load of others (most notably Reece Dinsdale's striking lead character John), it still fails to connect them together in a manner that would let you know they had a history from the first film.

Set in a modern Britain nearly twenty five years on from then, it highlights some simmering tensions and divisions that are very relevant to these times, and there's a lot of interesting potential to explore with these themes, as well as the generally shocking element of the football violence. Sadly, none of it really manages to engage you in the way it should, and it just goes through the motions without any real coherency or focus.

It has the original's staunch and spirit. If only it had it's substance. **

What even is this??? Some decent acting but the writing was an absolute mess.

NOTHING MADE Sense. I tasted my own fart and that was still more enjoyable than watching this.

If you're of the belief that every football hooligan is an uneducated far-right Muslim hating terrorist then this film is probably for you, if you have a semblance of free thought though it's probably best avoided. It's a shame they had to taint the original film with this rubbish.

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.