I went into the film with no background knowledge. The use of "Riot" in the title and the picture of obvious toffs gave me an inkling as to what would/could happen. I had already formed a UK version of Skulls in my head.
Pre-credit(?) scenes that set the origins of the club were almost comical in their direction and I feared that might be the tone for the rest of the film. Thankfully not. But then again, it didn't really get much better.
It is cliché ridden with one posh but decent guy and one posh but nasty guy, who hates nice guy, despite nice guy having been decent to nasty guy. zzzzzzzz.
Nice guy appeals to working class northern girl, despite their being from different classes because he is so decent. But can it last? Surely not when he gets tempted by the Riot(ers?). She won't see the funny side of it (even if she didn't get involved in the actual event). After all, she didn't approve of the room trashing.
In some ways it did make me think slightly. I thought it was interesting how it was only the "working class" who stood up to them (hooker, landlord's daughter, Lauren). Even the landlord, who firstly gave in to their demands, eventually stood up. And yet, the rich privileged Miles hasn't got the guts to stand up.
Is it trying to say that the price of reputation/peer opinion far outweighs principles? Perhaps not, because it was only after the landlord's daughter pointed out that he had sold out, that he decided to stand up.
Also, the power of the pack was emphasised. There were a number of the group who were such wet farts, that a simple punch would've felled them - Ryles as a key example. A sobbing wreck after the cashpoint hold up and then acting tough as nails when he's got the backing of the group behind him. And as for the pair that were chatting up Lauren in the pub in the early part of the film, a strong wind would've blown them away.
The climax of the debauched behaviour was surely beyond realism? Not least because he could've (should've) died after that.
And as for the "we stick together" at the end between Ryles and the MP Jeremy - was that honestly trying to tell us that they can cover up a prison record for assault?
Finally, the way no-one speaks as if drunk despite having consumed vast quantities of alcohol and no-one wakes with a hangover the next day.
My review may seem rambling. If it does, it is because I found the whole film to be rambling and pointless.
Pre-credit(?) scenes that set the origins of the club were almost comical in their direction and I feared that might be the tone for the rest of the film. Thankfully not. But then again, it didn't really get much better.
It is cliché ridden with one posh but decent guy and one posh but nasty guy, who hates nice guy, despite nice guy having been decent to nasty guy. zzzzzzzz.
Nice guy appeals to working class northern girl, despite their being from different classes because he is so decent. But can it last? Surely not when he gets tempted by the Riot(ers?). She won't see the funny side of it (even if she didn't get involved in the actual event). After all, she didn't approve of the room trashing.
In some ways it did make me think slightly. I thought it was interesting how it was only the "working class" who stood up to them (hooker, landlord's daughter, Lauren). Even the landlord, who firstly gave in to their demands, eventually stood up. And yet, the rich privileged Miles hasn't got the guts to stand up.
Is it trying to say that the price of reputation/peer opinion far outweighs principles? Perhaps not, because it was only after the landlord's daughter pointed out that he had sold out, that he decided to stand up.
Also, the power of the pack was emphasised. There were a number of the group who were such wet farts, that a simple punch would've felled them - Ryles as a key example. A sobbing wreck after the cashpoint hold up and then acting tough as nails when he's got the backing of the group behind him. And as for the pair that were chatting up Lauren in the pub in the early part of the film, a strong wind would've blown them away.
The climax of the debauched behaviour was surely beyond realism? Not least because he could've (should've) died after that.
And as for the "we stick together" at the end between Ryles and the MP Jeremy - was that honestly trying to tell us that they can cover up a prison record for assault?
Finally, the way no-one speaks as if drunk despite having consumed vast quantities of alcohol and no-one wakes with a hangover the next day.
My review may seem rambling. If it does, it is because I found the whole film to be rambling and pointless.