Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

t_atzmueller "Brutal … even better than Rise of the Footsoldier", said one critic about "Bonded by Blood", no doubt while counting the pound notes inside a vanilla envelope.Lot of critics have shredded „Rise of the Footsoldier", the second film about the infamous Rettendon Range Rover killings: too brutal, too many drugs, too much swearing and a rather inconsistent storyline. However, friends of violent British gangster / hooligan films have declared "Footsoldier" a cult-movie and wondered why there seemed a need to have the story filmed a third time.The main reason why a "Footsoldier"-fan would want to watch "Bonded by Blood" is the return of many actors from the first film: Terry Stone reprises the role of the foul-mouthed Tony Tucker; albeit a somehow polished version, without the ludicrous wig he had to wear in "Footsoldier", replaced with a cheap suit looking like a leftover from "Goodfellas" and a Terry Stone who at all times looked uncomfortable, not sure why he was there in the first place. Neil Maskell, having a minor role as Darren Nicholls in the prior film, plays Craig Rolfe; physically more accurate in "Bounded for Blood", his character pales in comparison to the slimy, malicious Rolfe that Roland Manookian had played.Jack Whomes, in both films the man who fires the first shots into the Range Rover, is played by Dave Legeno, who had a small role as hooligan in "Rise of the Footsoldier". Prior Ben Harper played Whomes as a psychopathic henchman, his final scene giving the viewers chills, but the Whomes of this movie is no more than a robotic hulk with a shotgun. And while we're on the topic of miscasting: whatever gave the producers the impression that Pat Tate was Turkish? A highlight could have been Vincent Regan, whose hawk-like eyes and chiselled features made him one of the more memorable characters in Zack Snyder's "300". Alas, Regan playing the burned out gangster Mickey Steele, is wasted in this role, looking all the while as if he just hadn't slept enough before shooting.If you compare "Rise of the Footsoldier" to a hooligan on steroid-rage, "Bonded by Blood" is more like a backdoor-dealer on tranquilizers: there's plenty of pointless talking, occasional cussing, beatings and shootings, bits of nudity and bits of drug-taking. About midway the viewer stops caring for the one-dimensional characters, waiting for the infamous Range Rover shooting scene, the bloody and very realistic highlight of "Footsoldier". The scene comes, shotguns are emptied (more or less in the off) into the occupants of the Rover and the viewer is left with a distinct sentiment of "so what".In Germany, "Bonded by Blood" has been released under the moniker "Footsoldier 2", hoping to rehash the success of the 2008 film but personally, I hope that the "Footsoldier"-fans won't fall for that promotional gimmick – unlike me, who naturally pulled his wallet when the film hit the shelves.I'll give it a well-meaning three points out of ten but if I had to watch the film again, I'd probably reduce that to two.

Deano Apstarr This film is a very inaccurate portrayal of the men. I found it extremely disappointing after anticipating it for a few months. I found rise of the foot soldiers to be much more realistic and I guess there is a reason why it is, as ROTFS is a list of events told by an extremely reliable person, an extremely close friend of Tony Tucker and also someone who knew Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe very well, his name is Carlton Leach.However 'Bonded By Blood' is a film by Terry stone, who has no personal knowledge of the murders or the people involved, and therefore has painted a more hollywoodised version and transformed the characters completely.For instance Darren Nichols was an Essex boy from near Braintree, and not a rude-boy type who spoke similar to dizzy rascal. He was chubby and was pretty unintelligent. Jack Whomes was not a tall bodybuilder but instead average height and plump. The person who really made me laugh was Pat Tates character. I thought Pat Tate was of Irish descent and not Turkish! LOL. Tony Tucker had a strange mullet type haircut, and was not often seen in a suit. Craig Rolfe is also portrayed in this film as a young wise expert in handling guns, and very sharp and of strong status within the firm. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. He was Tony Tuckers little runner, that constantly got shown up publicly by the firm, he was also rather dim and had no valid opinion in the firm.All I can say is its a good film if you want to watch a snatch / Rollin with the nines type film, but if you are like me and have read many books on the Rettendon murders and then watched this expecting it to be a very accurate story and portrayal of the characters involved then you will be very disappointed.

ajay699 A real well put together movie, i have enjoyed it thoroughly. Some great scenes as well as humorous in parts.A must see movie, not one to be missed. All I can say is watch it and judge for yourself.This is the true story of the essex boys the whole truth and nothing but the truth.you will have to wait until 26th December 2010 for the DVD release so go on and treat yourselfyou deserve it, definitely one for the collection , one you can watch over and over again

raveydaveygravey I went to see this film with a couple of friends one of which had read all the books. I had seen Essex Boys but not Return of the Foot Soldier and was quite looking forward to this film.I love gangster films and obviously being a bit of an Essex boy and been to the places mentioned in the film in the early nineties was quite looking forward to this film.However I was absolutely disappointed. Although the acting was just about OK but not entirely believable the depiction of 90's Essex is nothing short of atrocious.The night club Raquels was a big night club in basildon essex but in the film it looks like a bar out of Neighbours. The fashions were a cross between 80's and the noughties. At not one point in the film did I feel I was in the 90's. The fashions were all wrong. Blokes were wearing suits or tucked in shirts (this would have no doubt got you a good seeing too in 90's Essex but was considered normal in the film) and no curtains in sight. The women were wearing heavy 80's makeup, tight tops short skirts and platform stilettos...I don't remember that in the 90's it was more cover your self up baggy tops, bobbed hair, bell bottoms and clumpy shoes! Even the scenes on Southend Pier included modern infrastructure that was never around in the 90's. Overall it was just about watchable but whoever was responsible for the depiction of 90's Essex should have been taken away in a 'K' reg Range Rover and shot!