Football Factory hits the nail on the head

The Football Factory is a tale of football violence told through the eyes of Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer) who gets his kicks out of smashing peoples’ heads in.

Tommy is a member of the Chelsea ‘firm’, a group of like-minded thugs who meet before every game to arrange the obligatory pre-match fight with the supporters of whatever club the blues are playing.

The firm see themselves as top dogs and are willing to take on all-comers.

To them, football violence is a recreational drug, their way of relaxing after a tough week’s work.

However, after a beating from a group of Millwall heavies, and a series of disturbing nightmares, Tommy starts to question his lifestyle.

Somebody along the line must have knocked some sense into him, as he starts to see the light and wonders if getting his head kicked in on a Saturday is really worth it.

The clever mixing of brutal fighting scenes with decent character analysis makes The Football Factory well worth watching.

It’s more enjoyable than most football games I’ve seen lately.

Drama, 18. 3/5