Next Up For Snacks Cinema: Green Street Hooligans

Now this one is in my top five. I have been a fan of this one since the first time I saw it. I am a huge soccer fan myself and follow Barclays Premiere League closely now thanks to NBC.  On a quick soccer note, congratulations to the United States Mens National Team with wins over Germany and the Netherlands in the last week and good luck to the Women National Team as they play in Canada at the World Cup.

Back to the movie, Green Street Hooligans was directed by Lexi Alexander and starred Elijah Wood, Clare Forlani, and Charlie Hunnam before Sons Of Anarchy.

This movie mainly takes place in London and shows a darker side to the sport of soccer or as they would say over there football. For the simple fact that the United States made it further than England in the last World Cup, I am calling it soccer throughout the rest of this post.  This movie delves into the world of hooligan gangs called firms and how soccer is more than a sport over there for some people it’s a way of live. This movie delivers a valid message with some badass fight scenes throughout it. The violence starts in the first scene at a London Substation before revealing the main character.

This movie follows Matt Buckner, a journalism major who is wrongfully expelled from Harvard, played by Elijah Wood. After the expulsion, Matt then travels to London to spend time with his sister and discovers the underground world of firms that despise journalists. After being introduced to Pete Dunham, played by Charlie Hunnam, Matt’s live completely changes. Pete, the younger brother of Matt’s brother in law, scuffles with Matt over some money and after seeing Matt’s lack of fighting skills Pete decides to bring the Yank along. In their first day together, Pete takes him to the pub where his firm hangs out and then the two head to a West Ham Game. Everything seems like a normal fun afternoon of getting drunk with the boys. It is not until Matt splits from the group and heads home that shit gets real. A small rival group catches up to him and he receives a little bit of a beating before Pete and the Green Street Elite show up to rescue their Yank friend. After chasing the small group into a trap, Matt and the G.S.E. must stand their ground and fight because in the hooligan culture reputation is everything.  This is a recurring notion throughout the story. Matt hides his journalism past in order to fit in with Pete and the boys. Once Matt is accepted in this culture he begins to live for the adrenaline rush that comes with it. Right as the FA Cup Quarterfinal draw pits their firm against a rival, a visit from Matt’s father, a journalist, causes things to fall apart within the firm. With a rival firm hellbent on revenge and the G.S.E. weak, a close friend’s betrayal leads to events that could tear the Green Street Elite apart. Can the firm and boys survive this betrayal and overcome the adversities that lay ahead?

Green Street Hooligans is a classic in my book. This being one of my top rated movies it gets five stars. That’s right it is possible to score a five out of five in Snacks Cinema. And trust me I know what you are thinking no way Elijah Wood is in a badass fighting movie but ladies and gentlemen I’ll be damned if he didn’t play a good role in this film. I believe that if a movie fully entertains you, moves you a little emotionally that it has done its job. This movie definitely accomplishes both of those and teaches there are times to fight and there are times to walk away. At only 109 minutes, it is not a long film to explore a story that deals with a world most of us are unfamiliar to. I recommend this movie for anyone looking for anyone that is looking to be entertained. Viewers will not be disappointed with violent fight scenes and dramatic moments throughout.

“If he’d done that to me I’d have beat seven shades of shit out of him!” – Pete Dunham

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