Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance

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>...