STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Following a 'can't back down' confrontation with his rival Millwall supporters, Dave (Ross McCall) and his gang are transferred to a tougher prison with a harsher regime, where they are pitted against the brutal Big Marc (Graham McTavish) and his blood thirsty section of the Millwall firm who are determined to make their lives hell.
I'm not going to start blaming Green Street 2 for problems in society, and am the most liberal minded when it comes to censorship, but this soulless straight to DVD sequel to the only average cinematic film is as base as it can get, with the minimal, simplistic story revolving around twisted thugs dishing out sickening, blood soaked hand to hand violence to each other. Since each side is as morally and humanistically dead as each other, it's tough to really see either side coming off as the good guys in the tacked on 'happy' ending that feels as flat and insincere as the plot has been so far up in the film.
Another objection is the lack of conviction. It's supposedly set in a tough English prison, yet the inside and (especially) the outside resemble more of an American one, making it pretty obvious it was filmed for a yank audience, along with the actors putting on unconvincing London accents when they're really Scottish, northern or even American themselves. As the lead star, McCall carries things along with enough (fake) cockney charm whilst getting convincing (given the nature of the film) support from Luke Massy and Nick Holender and McTavish certainly has presence as the villain, but the material is so weak none of them can shine. One fun thing you can do is play Spot the Character Actor, including 'Digital Man' Matthias Hues in literally a walk on part and even Bennett (from Commando) himself Vernon Wells (now really fat) as the prison governor, but the overall feeling you're left with is why the studios keep making these meaningless, cheap looking straight to DVD sequels in the first place and what drives anyone to want to watch them. *
