Cass - Movie Review

Cass is based on the true story of Cass Pennant, a West Ham Football Club supporter/hooligan. Pennant has gone on to write many books about his days in the I.C.F. (Inter City Firm) as well as about other hooligans. He may have been the first one to speak out about the whole Firm mentality and what went on. Some say he's full of it and others say it's all true. So take it for what you like.

Cass grew up on the streets of East London. He was an adopted Jamaican baby, by an older white couple. He grew up in a white area and stuck with his same mates he grew up with.

His first experience of football violence was when he was 14 years old. He was off to a match and found himself in the middle of two firms fighting. He stuck around and eventually became the leader of the I.C.F. He wasn't very educated and he tried to turn what he was doing into something glorified.

Personally I think that these Firms need to be disbanded and they all need to be banned from going to matches. I have personally had a couple of run-ins with some of them as I was on my way to a match with Arsenal against Man United. A friend of mine stepped in and told them off and they went on their way. another time they started to taunt me on a train with my wife and when they found out I was an American, they laughed it off and told me I should be a Man United fan since they were owned by an American.

There's no place in this world for these types and they don't need to be glorified either.

The movie is interesting because it does tell the story based on Cass's view. He does show the people around who were against what he was doing along with the violence as well. Nonso Anozie plays Cass and does a good job at it. The one who plays Freeman, Leo Gregory was Bovver in the movie Green Street Hooligans. There was a bunch of film footage from the actual time added. Some Margaret Thatcher footage talking about Hooligans. Other footage of the violence added in to show the reality of it.

Overall I like the way they portayed the story even though I still don't think it should be glorified. Sometimes it's just interesting just to see a little of what went on so people know not to get involved. It shows the dark side of what goes on and what went on with Cass. He was shot after he went clean and walked away. He was working as a bouncer at a nightclub and was shot by some people he had a run-in during the years before.

I think it's worth checking this one out just to see went on in those days. Things have certainly change over the years and with CCTV there isn't as much of it happening now, but it still does exist. Not sure when it will be available in the US, but keep your eye out and rent it for sure.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars