It’s back to murderous Margate for footsoldier Pat Tate, where he immediately gets embroiled in a botched armed robbery. The proceeds were intended for a drug deal, and not long afterwards, Kenny, a mate of his, is brutally murdered by a gang in London’s Soho. Tate vows revenge for Kenny’s death and searches for a drag queen/amateur boxer called Billy the Kid, who might lead to those responsible. At the same time, Billy’s scrapyard owner and tough guy father is also searching for him, and into the mix, Tate thinks someone is messing with him, and he does not know who to trust.
Surprisingly, compared to the previous film, Rise of the Footsoldier: Marbella, there is no nudity or copious use of drugs, but as might be expected in a Footsoldier film, there’s plenty of shooting and stabbing by tough old-school geezers, along with treachery, duplicity, and others besides Tate seeking revenge.
It expertly reveals the underbelly of gangland violence in 1990s Soho, with hit songs of that period on the soundtrack, and it is tinged with a dark sense of humour. For example, when a gangster asks a barmaid if she knows where Billy the Kid is, she says she knows nothing about him, yet there is a blatantly advertising one of his performances behind her.
Craig Fairbrass plays Pat Tate and is at the very epicentre of the action, where he relentlessly seeks vengeance at any cost. For mindless action-packed violence, you need to look no further.
The extras include an audio commentary by director Nick Nevern and writer-producer Andy Loveday, a ‘making of’ Vengeance video, and deleted/extended scenes.
RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER: VENGEANCE is out now on Blu-ray and DVD.
