User reviews

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

One of the movie sub-genres I enjoy is British underworld / British Football Hooliganism. It is a nice change of pace from American mob movies, yet still includes the violence and action I enjoy. I go into these movies acknowledging there probably will be an absence of award winning dialogue, emotional relationships and gripping plot. But I expect gritty violence and for the movie to bring realism to that type of criminal behavior. Some movies do end up having great acting and a nice plot twist and that can elevate the underworld movie to a classic, but the Guvnors is not one of those. The movie has its pros, but its cons ultimately would make this a pass for me.

The movie's plot revolves around a local hoodlum with an established gang. Not satisfied with earning an illegal income and terrorizing innocent members of the community, he also craves respect. Some community members mention the old gang that use to run the streets, and how that gang "ran things the right way". Some he sets off by causing mayhem and coercing the retired old timer to come and meet him for a showdown on the street. It is a little silly how some recent British crime movies draw on this premise – that old time gangsters were somehow more noble that current gangsters. I guess if you steal and rob by only being somewhat violent, you are considered more civilized that someone who uses more violent methods. But alas, that is the premise of this movie.

The somewhat irrational plot can be overlooked, because when we rent these movies we just want violence in a realistic atmosphere. And the fight scenes do deliver. There are typical slow motion fight scenes and drug den robberies. The hoodlum actors do a good job of making us believe we are witnessing how a drug dealer behaves. However, for some reason the screenwriter tried to involve way too many plot lines and twists. And this leads to scenes introducing characters for no reason, twists that begin to distract the viewer due to their implausibility and an ending that does not really make sense.

It is a little frustrating spending time watching a movie and then being rewarded with such a poor ending. I feel as though it is easy to deliver on a crime drama. Just give us a crime story with one twist and punctuate the movie with violence. And the viewer agrees to overlook a hackneyed plot and weak character motivations. But when the plot beings to get muddled and characters make choices that make no logical sense, it can be a problem. And when these problems are so severe that they actually being to distract the viewer and ruin the realism of the movie, that is a problem. I would suggest trying another movie in this genre. Ultimately, plot revelations that made no sense and a rather silly ending will leave you very unsatisfied.

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.

Oh another gangster flick from Britain . Anyone watching a British film from the last twenty tears must be under the impression everyone in England must be a gangster or a football hooligan in much the same way as anyone watching a 1970s movie set in New York must either be a victim of crime or the victim of a vigilante . Hopefully the English tourist board can sell England to foreign tourists but it's going to be very difficult selling a sub genre that has been done so many and too many times before . To be fair to THE GUVNORS it is a fairly engaging film for the most part

A bunch of violent thugs led by Adam takes over a London estate through a reign of merciless violence . Stepping over the mark when they kill an erstwhile member of an old firm from 1980s former gang leader Mitch pulls his old crew together to take on Adam's ruthless thugs . It's a rather basic premise of old school "nice" gangsters taking on new school "bad" gangsters . Director/writer Gabe Turner has resisted the temptation of casting the usual suspects of Danny Dyer , Ray Winstone and Noel Clarke and the film works better because of this . You have to buy in to the concept that when the titular "guvnors" were young they were merely young rascals who stuck to their own . Certainly sticking to their own isn't what Adam's crew do as their portrayed as violent amoral thugs . The film asks us to take sides and you don't need any persuading as to which side to take . It also makes several good points as to how the aging process changes people

I did say THE GUVNORS is an engaging film for the most part and it was chugging along very nicely . Unfortunately this sustained narrative pace doesn't seem good enough for Turner the screenwriter and adds a plot turn just over two thirds of the way through which supposedly adds another layer to the story which the film could have done without and interferes with the rest of the movie which lurches in to melodrama and cliché after this which is a pity because at least the film does try and bring something new to the table

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 was decent apart from the main bad guy sniffing the whole way through, simply annoying, didn't add to his character, kept having to turn the tv down when he was involved in quiet scenes.

It's not that great to start with but it looked like it had potential. The incessant sniffing by the main character adds to the annoying viewing. Made on the cheap and in places it shows.

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.

Guvnors is a predictable "what is violence?", "when do men grow up?" type movie.

There is no match day aggro, any of that is just shown in brief flashbacks, so you'll be disappointed if you were looking for another The Firm or Football Factory. While we're on the subject, the violence acted out is good, well choreographed and mostly believable.

No, this is a tale of an old nutcase in retirement who comes up against a rising young nutcase, so far so clichéd. We're expected to believe that one guy (played by one of Rizzle Kicks lol) who inexplicably sniffs a lot and his multiracial cartoon character pyschos can become feudal lords of a half deserted London estate. The son of our antihero is threatened by a clichéd giggling blond loony, all weird head tilting and playing with knives, so the retired Guvnors firm are rounded up and pressed into action.

Are they saving their community? Participating in primal scream therapy? Mid life crisis? It's never clear, but the main catalyst is 70s songster David Essex, incredulously, flooring the sniffing gang leader in Britain's darkest pub then his later fate at the hands of our young Scarface.

I cannot buy the gang, it's leader, what they actually do (who buys their drugs, nobody lives there?), the sketchy flashbacks to "something" happening in the past...but to be fair Doug Allen does a fair job portraying the bored, uptight Guvnors top boy and we also bizarrely, considering this is London, get real life old Zulus top boy Barrington Patterson in his first geezer movie appearance.

Summing up - OK for a hungover morning or a sick day off work, but don't expect The Firm.

Honestly, I'm surprised. I saw the name of this and decided to watch it, for no real reason, and after watching I checked out the IMDb page (as I usually do.) Seeing that this movie is 5.4/10 inspired me to create an account, finally.

This is a carefully-shot and thickly-written story which, despite some clear clichés, gets across what it wants to get across succinctly. Sometimes, the pace and storytelling gets blocky and unorthodox, but it's still altogether solid. The use of color, the acting, the dialogue, it's all enjoyable and not at all a bad mixture. I was expecting at least a 7/10. Odd.

Americans won't understand the references to the troubled 80's and the main character who was a skinhead frustrated rebel who created quite a bit of trouble, but ended up just a successful gay businessman.

The action takes place in a neighborhood embattled by the ghost history of the old versus the physical brutality of the youth. Simple plot really, but the sidetexts of violence begets violence through the generations, through genetics, and through entrenched poverty make this movie break away and become entertaining and contain more depth than a simple gang-turf warfare meaningless bit of film-making.

While not perfect, I make it out to be a fine example of its genre, something not intended to be Oscar worthy, but still gripping, entertaining, and worth some popcorn.

That annoying character playing Shanko, constantly sniffing and picking his nose.

Just blow your nose and quit snorting stuff, however you never see hem do that?

I have had several times that I wanted to stop watching, just because of that.

It is a good story, nice acting. A bit slow here and there, a bit confusing, with all the flasback. So, one needs to keep attention.

I think it might depict the current situation of london, and the problems that the youth has to deal with. Even if the current situation isnt much different then a generation or two generations ago.

I thought it would be a London-gangster movie, but I am not sure if that would describe it.

If these were my friends, I would be happy to be alone

Good movie.

It is hard to no where to start on how bad this is. You see films like this and can only think that they exist as some sort of tax dodge.

This could easily have been written and directed by a lobotomised whelk, were that whelk to be the most stupid whelk ever to have been born.

Harvey Sylvester's performance, and I use that word in it's loosest possible sense, is laughable. The extent of his characterisation is to pull the face of someone with a sinus issue and spitting between his teeth. That he won an NFA only shows what a nonsense awards are. Thankfully his 'acting' career was as short as his musical career.

Other than keeping David Essex's canal barge fuelled for another month or two, this film has zero redeeming features. Well, it ends, that was a merciful release.

I watched it because it was a "Netflix Feature" and the football hooligan genre kind of appealed as the last movie I watched along those lines was I.D. with Philip Glenister and Warren Clarke - a very good if slightly disturbing film.

The Governors had wooden acting coupled with a flimsy plot - and the mandatory twist seemed like it had been thrown in at the 11th hour and was at best far-fetched.

If you're drunk and can stay awake long enough, you may find some of the ill-choreographed fight scenes mildly entertaining, otherwise it's a firm NO from me.

Another hour and a half of my life I'll never get back!

Great film. Thoroughly enjoyed this gritty portrayal of old vs new gangster life in London. The film was beautifully shot and took unexpected turns in the plot that gave the Guvnors a unique and stand out quality from other similar attempts in this genre. The acting of the main leads Slyvester and Allen were excellent and ensured that you were engaged throughout. It would seem that Director Gabe Turner has done a superb job in handling the various themes that are featured within the film and does not dictate to the viewer what they should or shouldn't think but rather poises questions that leave you wondering and wanting to explore further. It is rare to find a film that ticks the boxes of great film making, great entertainment and gives you something to think about long after.

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 offers nothing. The main antagonists motivation for taking down the "Guvnors" is never really explained. They're all retired and seemingly uninvolved in any crime, which interfere with his work and yet he seems obsessed with their reputation and taking over precisely nothing. I think it was the Guardian who rightly called the film our for its portrayal of hooligans as Nights of Camelot figures as opposed to the often simplistic idiots they were. I would have given it 0 stars, but to be fair the soundtrack is excellent and there are one or two actors who do their best with what they're given I(Jay Simpson and Vas Blackwood). Avoid unless you have the brain the size of a pea and you think the Football Factory is a work of genius as opposed to one of unintentional comedy.

The guy from fizzle kicks can't act, his mouth is always open and looks weird and he spits really weirdly, would prob be a better film if someone believable was playing his part.