The British version of 'Fight Club?'

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2019)

'Fight Club' came along and showed us a lifestyle that 'bored American men' could - somewhat - identify with and a - possible - solution to the 'problem' of how to deal with their natural masculine instincts in a world where battering people to a bl00dy pulp is frowned upon (funny that!). Now, 'The Football Factory' may be metaphorical as well as literal miles away from 'Fight Club,' but there are some similarities (believe it or not!) and, no, I'm not saying that Brad Pitt is anything like our own Danny Dyer!
Danny Dyer plays 'Tommy Johnson,' on the surface just another cheeky young cockney who loves what most young men do (regardless of whether they're cockney or not), i.e. drinking, women and, or course, football. Now, that doesn't sound too 'out there' apart from the fact that rather than just cheering his team on over a pint in the local boozer, Tommy enjoys smashing the hell out of opposing teams' fans along with his own little gang/army. And he even sees this as some sort of recreational activity/hobby that he looks forward to at the weekend.
The parallels I see between 'The Football Factory' and 'Fight Club' are basically that the story revolves around a group of men who just don't seem to be able to fit into society and 'push back' against what most of us perceive as 'the norm' via extreme (and very violent!) methods.
It would be easy to say that Tommy Johnson is not a nice guy. Anyone who indulges is violence as fun can't be a relatable hero, right? Well... sort of. He's actually quite a nice, charming guy. If you sat next to him on the bus he certainly wouldn't club you over the head and steal your phone. His use of violence is only channeled against those who also see violence as something to pass the time on a Saturday afternoon after the football's over. Therefore, although we may not identify with him and his 'vices' at least we can follow his journey.
The 'story' (notice the quote marks?) is loose to say the least. Most typical Hollywood films have a definite beginning, middle and end, plus the central protagonist has grown on his journey. Here, 'The Football Factory' is almost more like a documentary where we simply drop in during Tommy's life and follow his exploits for a certain amount of time, before saying our goodbyes and leaving him no real better or worse off than when we started.
It's certainly not going to be a film for everyone. I can imagine many not really wanting to spend an hour and a half watching a gang of thugs beat another gang of equally unlikable thugs to a pulp. But, it is strangely addictive. Like a carcrash I found myself unable to look away. I'd hardly claim it's a masterpiece, but, from various news reports and documentaries I've watched over the years on the subject matter, it does provide a dramatic little snippet into the lives of people who do this.