Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is a low-budget British gangster revenge movie built almost entirely around Craig Fairbrass and his intimidating presence as Pat Tate. Set in the early 1990s, the sixth entry in the long-running franchise follows Tate after his associate Kenny is brutally murdered, sending him on a personal mission for revenge through the criminal underworld of Essex and London. The story is familiar territory for the series, but this time there is enough character development to make Tate feel like more than just another violent gangster moving from one killing to the next.
Craig Fairbrass is easily the strongest reason to watch the film. Pat Tate has always been an aggressive and dangerous character, but Vengeance gives him a little more humanity, allowing Fairbrass to show a side of the character that previous entries have not explored as much.
He can still walk into a room and make everyone look nervous, but there is more emotion behind his actions when Kenny is killed, and the revenge story gives Fairbrass something more substantial to play. He remains convincing whenever Tate resorts to violence, whether punching, stabbing, shooting, or simply staring down somebody who has made the mistake of challenging him.
The supporting cast includes Josh Myers as Kenny, along with Ben Wilson as Billy the Kid and Stephen McCole as Billy’s father, while Fergus and several other new characters add some variety to the familiar criminal world. However, this is not an ensemble movie where every character carries equal weight. The film belongs to Fairbrass, and whenever he is off screen, the production immediately feels smaller and less interesting.
The direction and script, credited to Andrew Loveday and Jason Maza, give the story more focus than some of the previous Footsoldier installments. Instead of simply moving from one violent encounter to another, Vengeance actually gives its protagonist a reason to keep going, and the revenge structure provides enough momentum to hold the film together. The story remains straightforward, but that works in its favor because the movie never pretends to be more complicated than it is.
The production clearly operates on a limited budget, yet there are moments when the filmmakers manage to make the movie look considerably more expensive than it probably was. The camera captures the streets, clubs, pubs, and criminal environments with a gritty British atmosphere, while the action scenes deliver the brutality fans of the franchise expect.
There is plenty of fighting, stabbing, shooting, and bloodshed, although the choreography is more functional than spectacular. The strongest action moments work because Fairbrass looks completely believable as a man nobody should want to fight.
Vengeance is not a great gangster movie, but it is an average low-budget action-revenge film that knows exactly what its audience wants. The production has improved visually, the story has more substance than some earlier entries, and Fairbrass gives Pat Tate enough personality to keep the movie moving whenever the script starts to run thin.
If you are already a Rise of the Footsoldier fan, there is plenty here to enjoy, while newcomers should approach it as a straightforward British gangster action movie rather than expecting a polished studio production. Fairbrass is the reason to watch it, and when he is on screen, Vengeance has exactly the rough, violent energy this franchise was built around.
