A Fatastic Film

Rating: 10/10 (19 November 2007)

Green Street Hooligans is the story of Matt Buckner, a Harvard student played by Elijah Woods, who is expelled after the school finds his roommates cocaine in his closet. He then packs up and flies to England to visit his sister and her husband. While there he is befriended by his sister's brother in law, a boy by the name of Pete. Pete is the leader of the West Ham firm, the G.E.C. (Green Street Elite). A firm, as explained in the movie, is a group of fans that go to the games and fight the firms of other teams. He takes Matt to the pub and then to a soccer game. After the game things start to get a little out of the hand so Pete tells Matt to go home. On his way back he is followed by members of the teams firm. They begin to ruff him up and then the G.E.C. comes to his aid. The members of the other team flee and the G.E.C. chases them back to their reinforcements they had hiding around the corner. The altercation concludes with a brawl between the two firms. The G.E.C. arises victorious and Matt is accepted into the firm by its members. As the film continues it documents what the life of a firm member is like, both the good and the bad.
No matter what kind of movies you are interested in you will be able to find something appealing in this film. It has deep roots in the drama genre. However, it is jam packed with action and is littered with comedic elements as well. Green Street Hooligans is an emotionally enticing tale. The story is beautifully written, it grabs you at the beginning of the movie and refuses to let go until the very end. The writers did a very good job of choosing when to reveal things to the audience in order to keep the story line interesting and unpredictable. The story flows and develops when and the audience is left with a very satisfying ending to a terrific film. The story is set in England and the film does a very good job of showing the audience what life in a small English town is like. It also does a good job of convening what it is like to be a member of a soccer firm in England. It portrays the brotherhood and the trust that each member has for each other and the willingness that each member has to protect what is dear to them. The acting in the film is impeccable; the characters have been developed excellently. Elijah Woods, and the rest of the cast for that matter, take on the roles of their respective characters and make you believe that they are real live people. You can immediately pick out characters that relate to your personally. You begin to like them and become invested in the decisions they make and the consequences that follow. The movie is a put together in a very good length of time. It is not too short so that you feel like you've missed something, and it is not too long either. So you aren't sitting there praying for the end so you can finally get up and go to the bathroom. The film leaves the audience with a fantastic message that they can carry away with them and apply to their own lives. The message that you need to know when it's time to stand your ground and when it's time to walk away.