Alicia I love this movie so much

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

daniel-mannouch Since i have slagged off Press on Features considerably in my previous reviews, i feel i should make it clear for clarity's sake that not all of their output has been drab and vanilla waste as i've hinted at previously. Look no further than at what i guess what you could call their most iconic release, a Poundland staple, Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan. Released at a time when both the gangland and Hooligan genres were in decline, this film combined the two, cleverly, admittedly, as a way to pick up the scraps of niche interest left over from the early 2000's. The result was an exploitation (and not the last one) of a true life account of a credit card fraudster with an "oh so indeed" frustratingly misleading title slapped on and the new wave of low budget Brit crime cinema crashed into our supermarkets. The Hooligangster film had arrived and has not left since. So, enough history, how's the film itself? Not bad. The quintessential low budget DV-era crime film. It has a clear idea of what it is and rarely bandies about with bringing the goods, all budgetary restrictions considered. Nick Nevern serves well as the small fish, big pond hood and is additionally served well by a good supporting turn by Simon Phillips and a well-balanced script that never struggles for politicisation and instead settles with sympathy for our protagonists.The clue is in the title. They are just atypical white collar guys, like the intended audience, who happen to embark on this underworld odyssey. There is really not a bad turn in this by anyone in this really. Unadventurous or safe yes, but never disastrous or insipid. It's a story that keeps your interest despite lacking the bombast of the more notable entries it apes consistently throughout the running time. Is it the best of it's kind? Maybe. Taking into consideration that it spawned a trilogy of steady quality, it's hard to argue anything of it's kind matches it in success. But with the increasingly ambitious (and enjoyable) works of the likes of Nicholas Winter and Terry Lee Coker upcoming, it might be only a matter of time before a new style establishes itself and closes over this fine ride of austerity era gangster fantasy.

Richard Lewis (zombie-28) I couldn't resist this as I watch most of the 'geezer' movies that come out. Firstly the title is very confusing. The main character isn't white collar, and his hooligan activities are limited to a short montage in the opening 5 minutes. What it's really about is an unemployed thug joining a credit card cloning racket and rising through the ranks before the inevitable crash. The story more or less follows the trajectory of 'Goodfellas' but obviously no where near as slick of well written. Some of the dialogue is straight out of the 'Football Factory' book and gets far to close to the embarrassment of Danny Dyer's forced tones. The music is also woeful and inappropriate. That said, the credit card scam sections are quite entertaining in a limited beer & curry night kind of way. In closing, I don't know what you would expect from a film entitled 'Fall and Rise of a White Collar Hooligan' but what you get is a flawed low budget crime drama with some limited interesting parts. 5/10

January39 I quite liked this, it had a dark feel to it which reminded me of other films in this kind of genre. The problem i had was that the characters did not just fit - is this guy a footy hooligan, loving boyfriend or loathsome fraudster. Yes, i guess you could say all 3 but honestly...? i don't think they pulled it off, same applies for his 'supervisor' - really?When the gang lord (Guvnor, boss, top man we are told)gives him a gun he does not blink, but later he moans he has never needed a gun nor used one and it frightened him - seemed quick enough to slid it in the back of his trousers first time though without a hitch or thought (surely anyone who has never held a gun would say remark how heavy they are??)Aspects of the film were very clichéd particularly the dialogue, do gangsters really speak to each like that, i have no idea, but it must get boring quick if they do...Overall, worth a watch but don't expect Snatch or something as this is not that, it stands up well but ultimately heads into well travelled land.The footy film is a weak link at best, it defo plays second fiddle to the credit card fraud. Maybe the title needs a change? I could barely see the link (again characters did not fit for me)6/10 for me.

tseepra I love hooligan films, Green Street Hooligans (2005), The Football Factory (2004), The Firm (2009), even Rise of the Footsoldier (2007) and Cass (2008).But this film is just bad. It uses hooliganism as a crutch for a bad plot. Nothing of interest happens in the movie. Like a previous reviewer said, it's a sub par gangster movie, lacking creativity and realism.The only reason it relates to hooliganism is that the two main characters meet at a football match. I would not recommend this movie to anyone.