Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance (2023)

So "Tate" (Craig Fairbrass) and his buddy "Kenny" (Josh Myers) are holding up a security van when things go a bit awry and the latter man ends up shooting one of the guards. They get away ok, only to discover that there is a distinct paucity of cash in the box they pinched. Furious, they fall out and "Kenny" heads into Soho where he meets his pal "Billy" (Ben Wilson) who does a turn as a drag act in the "Freedom Club". Turns out these two rather amateur villains are planning to make some large ones dealing cocaine and a meeting is set up with an unscrupulous dealer who decides to have his cake and eat it... It now falls to "Tate" to find out who did what to whom in as bloody and violent a fashion as possible and seek his revenge on the culprits. This picks up on some of the characters from the last outing for Fairbrass and Phil Davis's stereotypical and underwhelming gangster "Hexell" but is so clearly just an episode in what Nick Nevern wants to be a continuing series of these episodic and all-too-predictable dramas. Thing is with these stories, we don't get any depth to, or investment in, the characters and so I really couldn't care less about who was chasing who, nor did I really see the need for the undercooked "queer" storyline that was there, but for no apparent purpose. The production is way, way, better than the "Origins" (2021) effort with the direction and photography coupled with the dark London scenarios and a decent soundtrack going some way to creating a sense of menace. It's just the storytelling that's pretty weak and feeble and the acting little better.

Pleasantly surprised by this!

I have no idea how <em>'Rise of the Footsoldier'</em> has managed to reach its sixth (sixth!) installment, but to be fair I actually truly enjoyed this entry - to the point that I'd even say this is the best of the series. Admittedly, I am someone who only likes the second film; 1 and 3-5 are all forgettable, at best.

Craig Fairbrass is, despite the aforementioned, someone I do appreciate from these flicks. I wouldn't class his acting as anything incredible, though he does definitely have enough screen presence about him and undoubtedly fits the character he portrays. This film, in my opinion, holds his best performance as Pat Tate. Elsewhere on the cast, Geoff Bell has an impressive (albeit brief) appearance.

What helps this movie is that it doesn't only rely on the cringey wannabe gangster clichés of drugs, guns and women, like most of the other five productions do; <em>'Rise of the Footsoldier 4: Marbella'</em> particularly falls victim to that, from what I remember. It's still in there, just not as front and centre as before. Here, the story has a bit more meat on its bones as my interest remained throughout. The score is quite good too, a few well chosen tracks.

In conclusion, a film that is vastly more entertaining than I thought it would be. Credit to all those involved with making <em>'Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance'</em>. Incredibly, a seventh release has already been confirmed! You know what, after this, I'm actually here for it. Fascinated to see how many of these they end up making, the UK's very own <em>'Fast & Furious'</em>...