Rise of the Footsoldier: The Heist (2019)

Storyline

Fresh out of prison, Pat Tate (Craig Fairbrass) steps right back into his Essex nightclub business. But although the money is good, he can't stop brooding about the man who had him put away. It's not long before he's off to Marbella to find Frank Harris and seek his revenge. But Harris is long dead and the middle man Terry Fisher offers Pat the biggest drug deal of his life. All Pat needs is for his pals Tony and Craig to deliver the cash from Essex to close the deal. But Craig being Craig, turns a simple plane trip to a massive road trip with a stolen VW van and its hippie German owner in tow. All Tony wants is to make it back in time to support his best friend Nigel Benn at the boxing match of his life. But when their cash gets stolen and Pat is threatened by a local firm, Pat comes up with an even more audacious plan and to get them back to England in time for Tony to walk Nigel Benn out to one of history's greatest fights.—andrew loveday

Plot Keywords

sequel, fourth part

Short Review

An improvement on 3.'Rise of the Footsoldier 4: Marbella', like two of its three predecessors, isn't good. However, this one is more of a less serious outing for the series. It still features the, let's be honest, cringey wannabe-esque gangster stuff, but this one probably has the most comedic intentions. All the issues from the earlier films remain, in truth.I never really cared for the main plot, though I didn't have a bad time watching it unfold - it's lame, but just about watchable. My 'favourite' part of this is the, unofficially titled, Adventures of Tony & Craig - they practically go on a road trip and it is amusing. The ending is kinda humorous, too.Cast-wise it's, like all of the 'Rise of the Footsoldier' productions, average at best. Everyone gives a forgettable performance unfortunately, Craig Fairbrass has enough about him to lead satisfactorily but there isn't a true standout. Cool seeing boxer Conor Benn portray father Nigel though.I see a fifth film is on course to land later this year. It's actually impressive that they've managed to craft this many stories from the one, true life, event. I plan on checking it out when it's released.