Top Dog

So I saw that this movie was being released and saw that, like Green Street, the writer was Dougie Brimson. Now I really liked Green Street, I'd even say it's one of my favorite movies of all-time in that genre. And I gotta say that overall, I liked Top Dog as well.

Good suspense, acting was overall good, and I liked to see a reappearance of Leo Gregory after his great performance in Green Street.

So I give this movie a 7 out of 10. I very much enjoy these movies with the English football firm backgrounds, and this one did not let down. I thought, however, that it may have been too close in resemblance to Green Street in many respects, so the lack of creativity brought my rating down a tad. Overall, good movie, highly recommended for those who like the work of Dougie Brimson / Green Street, but also recommended for everyone else as well.

I rather like a decent hooligan film....

This however was not any shade of decent..

Only watched this as Green Strret wasn't the worst football hooligan film

(not as good as ID and rise of the foot soldier anyway).

But this was poor on every aspect from the acting, storyline and even the fight sequences were unrealistically shown.

It will take a sensational film to bring me back round from avoiding Martin Kemp directed films.

Terrible.!

Wait for it to be on TV ,

it really is not worth money nor data.

Within the first 5 mins I thought this was going to be rubbish , and I was right . However I stuck it out and it didn't get any better . Complete and utter tosh don't waste your time on this film .

Straight off, I'm not a huge fan of the genre. I find the Mockney accents and the incessant "Geez" muttered from the edge of a sneer, a bit cringeworthy. I don't generally find it possible to believe in the characters and be taken away from the thought that they're all RADA trained actors that call each other darling when the cameras are off (Big exception to that is Tom Hardy of course!).

So I watched this film not expecting much and wasn't disappointed.

The overall story was extremely predictable, I was never at the edge of my seat. I thought it was poorly directed in so much that it didn't build tension, it didn't develop the characters to create any empathy with any of them and more importantly, when our lead has reached his crux moment we were treated to a flashback montage that wouldn't have looked out of place in a 1980s episode of Neighbours.

The acting was average overall. The best friend's wife clearly used Waynetta Slob as her inspiration (although at least her accent sounded more authentic than others).

The lead actor needed to shave and punch the make-up artist who apparently hasn't worked in Hi-Def before.

Vincent Regan was the most believable in my eyes, always a pleasure to watch. He stole every scene although that wasn't exactly the Brink's Mat Heist. Ricci Harnett is OK but better as a henchman than a boss. Jason Flemyng must have been too busy working on good projects for a real part in this film. Shame, because he's a fantastic actor.

To summarise, don't bother watching it. You already know what happens or will quickly get to the point where you don't care.

Watch the Offender instead.

I've never quite understood why they insist in speaking with these unreal London accents!

Needless to say this could have been an average film at best, but instead we are left with what seems a poorly edited, averagely directed and some rather poor acting. The plot is weak at its best and the script is so way off from we are expecting in terms of British film standards.

That said, if you have some free time on a Wednesday afternoon, you could do a lot worse.

Not our finest British hour.