Mitch (Doug Allen ) was once part of a gang called the Guvnors on the SE side. A young group of Hooligans form and bump heads with the old gang. Mitch had abandoned the gang 20 years ago and became a cop. Now with a battle going on, Mitch must be in the middle of it.

This is another young vs. old gang film. This one was okay, if you like that type of stuff. I thought there was too much drama and the twist which was to create the bittersweet ending, did nothing to move me. I preferred "We Still Kill the Old Way" better.

Guide: F-bomb. Implied sex, no nudity

Oh another gangster flick from Britain . Anyone watching a British film from the last twenty tears must be under the impression everyone in England must be a gangster or a football hooligan in much the same way as anyone watching a 1970s movie set in New York must either be a victim of crime or the victim of a vigilante . Hopefully the English tourist board can sell England to foreign tourists but it's going to be very difficult selling a sub genre that has been done so many and too many times before . To be fair to THE GUVNORS it is a fairly engaging film for the most part

A bunch of violent thugs led by Adam takes over a London estate through a reign of merciless violence . Stepping over the mark when they kill an erstwhile member of an old firm from 1980s former gang leader Mitch pulls his old crew together to take on Adam's ruthless thugs . It's a rather basic premise of old school "nice" gangsters taking on new school "bad" gangsters . Director/writer Gabe Turner has resisted the temptation of casting the usual suspects of Danny Dyer , Ray Winstone and Noel Clarke and the film works better because of this . You have to buy in to the concept that when the titular "guvnors" were young they were merely young rascals who stuck to their own . Certainly sticking to their own isn't what Adam's crew do as their portrayed as violent amoral thugs . The film asks us to take sides and you don't need any persuading as to which side to take . It also makes several good points as to how the aging process changes people

I did say THE GUVNORS is an engaging film for the most part and it was chugging along very nicely . Unfortunately this sustained narrative pace doesn't seem good enough for Turner the screenwriter and adds a plot turn just over two thirds of the way through which supposedly adds another layer to the story which the film could have done without and interferes with the rest of the movie which lurches in to melodrama and cliché after this which is a pity because at least the film does try and bring something new to the table

Mitch lives in suburban London, having turned his back on his previous life of casual violence and intimidation as part of a legendary South East London firm.

In the modern day he's the denizen of respectability and confidence, but Mitch used to be a Guv'nor.

When his soon tries to emulate him, and an incident happens in his old stomping ground, this holds a mirror up to Mitch and shows him the monster once again, dying to break out and wreak havoc.......

If your reading this review, then your like me, you've always had a soft spot for this type of Sub genre, the urban crime movie. Now here, it's more of the same, but the makers of the film have gave it a little spin, making it old school versus youth.

Its predictable fare, the young lads are depicted as the hooded sludge we see on most street corners everyday. You know the ones, speaking in a faux American accent, and walking like they have stones in their shoes. Oh how they vex ones mind..

And then you have the old boys. They all have good jobs, nice houses, and really good skin, despite the years of booze and violence. You know the ones, still a bit tasty, but never forget to 'ave a larf. And you recognise them from being on the telly when they were younger.

But then silly old seventies teen pop heart throb David Essex goes and punches the one from Rizzle Kicks, and it all goes down.

And that's the film. We have the young ones running the street being abhorrent, and the old ones not doing too much apart from sit around and wait for the big fight at the end.

Add former top ten, and MTV star Richard Blackwood, and the bloke from Soaps, and you have this totally, perfunctory slice of urban crime.

But what makes it rise above other Brit flicks, is the fact that it has a nice twist to it, that I never saw coming.

Perfect for a Sunday evening when nothing else is one.