ID2: Shadwell Army

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.

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.

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. **

Not exactly picking off where the first film ended,The viewer will find themselves thrust into the rough end of London and mixing it with the hard men who run the manors. Mo, an Asian cop (read: Muslim) undercover with Shadwell FC attempts to infiltrate the clubs firm and shut it down from the inside. Along the way he meets an other undercover officer with a different type of mission and the two men become allies. The action isn't as realistic as the original and the story is kind of hackneyed. One saving grace is the return of lovable tard Gumbo, who appeared in the original and offers some light comic relief. All in all this has too cheap a feel to it and the fights scenes are simply not realistic enough.

Don't bother. Usual low quality football hooligan film. You find the odd gem ,but this isn't one of them . The aim actor might as well wear a police uniform as he's so unconvincing qs an undercover cop.