Word: mattes
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...Matt tags along and is soon introduced to the world of “firms”—groups of sports fans who make the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry look like a friendly dinner table debate. Their main forms of recreation prove to be supporting their team, drinking heavily, and beating the fish and chips out of rival firms...
...this last aspect that makes Matt say, in slightly cheesy voice-over form, “I was about to learn something no Ivy League school in the world could teach me;” basically, he learns to inflict physical rather than mental pain upon others...
...film moves from fight to fight, strung together with several vague and unsatisfying storylines, as Matt becomes more and more involved in his new way of life. He goes from barely being able to throw a punch (a state of affairs for the puny Wood that is somewhat more convincing than his later role as an expert brawler) to masterminding some of the firm’s more impressive exploits...
...fights between firms are shot in a hyperkinetic, undersaturated Guy-Ritchie-esque style that succeeds brilliantly in making them look exhilarating. These scenes make clear the appeal of the combination of excitement and brotherhood that Matt finds in the life of a hooligan—and in case it’s not clear, he has some superfluous voice-overs about the appeal of fighting...
...heroes decimate their opponents. On the other, the movie tries to have it both ways with sobering “violence is bad” moments, like the death of a twelve-year-old boy. The mixed messages are summed up in a final voice-over by Matt, who claims to have learned when to stand his ground and when to walk away...