SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

seangavin-09512 The series completely loses the intensity of the original film, and sells out to 'cuteness' - all of them having fun, giggling and partying. The characters are soft and fluffy now that it's been watered down. All of that frightening buildup and grittiness of the film is entirely lacking here.

auaffiliates I was a 16 year old skinhead in Sydney Australia back then in 1986 and this pretty much sums it all up. A heap of kids from broken homes coming together. Rather than drugs it was drinking, music and each other. Skins, Rudy's, Mods, Rockers we all came together. There used to be soccer matches with all the sub-cultures it was a great time. This is perfect because it shows skinheads as they were not seig hailing nazi boneheads. I hope this series is extended it is a prefect reflection of that era. The characters are perfect and the different sub- cultures portray. Even in 2011 bands from that era are enjoying more success today then back then.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Playing out as the drama that it was, making it's characters so relatable to as normal people (and what a great job it did) This is England was one of those films that left you wondering what would become of the characters later on, long after it had finished. And, for those who don't fancy trekking out to the cinemas to see a follow up film, Shane Meadows has kindly made this more condensed four part TV drama that allows the drama and dynamics to build more gradually.All eyes, naturally, are on Shaun (Thomas Turgoose), the main character from the film, who's now a teenager, who's voice has deepened and who doesn't hold out much hope in his exams, leading him to a worrying future as another layabout with no hope in Thatcher's Britain. After the devastating events at the end of the film, he's also drifted apart from the old gang and hopes to keep it that way...until a chance encounter in a hospital causes their paths to cross again, including with Smell (Rosamund Hanson) his former love interest, and Woody (Joseph Gilgun) the charismatic leader of the group. Through-out the course of the series, the various characters encounter their various triumpths and tragedies, until they are set on a collision course with the return of Combo (Stephen Graham), before everything heads towards a shattering climax that will change everything.If there's one notable gripe here, it's that the attention to period detail doesn't feel quite as on the ball, compared with the film, with such minor notables as inside a hospital bringing this point to life no end. Otherwise, this is an inspired, relevant and worthy follow-up piece to a great film, that somehow does manage to get you more and more drawn into it as it goes on. As well as introducing a few new characters, the old faces including slow-witted Gadget (Andrew Ellis), hard faced mare Lol (Vicky McClure) and black guy Milky (Andrew Shim) are as prominent as before, some of them free to return to their more light hearted parts now free from the darker influence Combo had on them in the film. But although Stephen Graham's character is absent until the end, noteworthy considering what a massive driving force he was in the film, Johnny Harris perfectly fills his shoes in a very sinister role, truly bringing out a monstrous character in a very grim light.Though looking a bit more polished, with probably a bigger budget to cover it over, '86 basically follows in the same style as the film, the gang just ambling along, doing their thing, with the occasional dark burst of unpleasantness to make it feel truer to life. With some critics already hailing it as the best TV drama of the year, Meadows has left an acclaimed idea to his name. ****

BrotherMouzone I was lucky enough to attend the preview screening of This is Enlgand '86 last Thursday at the Showroom in Sheffield. The cinema was decorated to look like an 80's wedding with a buffet of sausage rolls, prawn vol au vonts, cheese and pineapple chunks on cocktail sticks, and there was also a live ska band and actors dressed in 80's clothing to help create a real 1986 atmosphere.The preview was attended by director Shane Meadows and all of the cast, who came up on stage before the screening to introduce the first episode. The producer mentioned that Shane Meadows had been frantically working in London every day to try to get the last 2 episodes finished in time to be aired on Channel 4.Only the first episode was shown at the screening along with a trailer for the rest of the series but I have to say that, based on what I saw, I don't think fans of the film will be at all disappointed by the series. The themes of racism, the Falklands War and Thacherite Britain take a bit more of a backseat here and the focus is now on the lives of the characters and the various personal problems they face growing up in 1986. The opening to the first episode is fantastic and the director manages to bridge the gap between the events of the film and the series in a very creative way that fans will love.The 1986 setting looks extremely authentic and the series is complimented by a fantastic soundtrack.The cast put in excellent performances once again, in particular Thomas Turgoose who returns as Shaun and Vicky MccLure who is again brilliant as Lol. Also look out for hilarious comedic turns from Hannah Walters (a.k.a Mrs Stephen Graham) who played the shoe saleswoman in the film, and newcomer Perry Fitzpatrick as psychotic bully Flip. I don't think I'm giving anything away here (as he is featured in all of the trailers) but we also see the return of the fantastic Stephen Graham as Combo.Although this first episode is more light hearted in tone than the film with some more obvious comedic set pieces, the director is able to expertly switch to the more dramatic scenes and engage viewers in the various predicaments of his characters. There are several very emotional scenes which work very well and the familiar sounds of the Einaudi piano score punctuate these scenes to great effect. For me one of the things that made the dramatic scenes in the original film so engaging was Shane Meadows' use of music to heighten the emotional impact and I found that he did this very effectively again here.The trailer for the other 3 episodes promises more hilarious scenes as well as some much darker subplots, and the series as a whole looks set to provide all of the same elements that made the original so appealing. As a fan of the film it felt a little like visiting a gang of old mates who I hadn't seen in a while, and I can't wait to see the rest of the series when it airs to find out what becomes of these great characters.