Rise of the Footsoldier: Retribution review – never-ending hardman-on-a-mission franchise heads to Ibiza
The Guardian has reviewed Rise of the Footsoldier: Retribution, the seventh film in the long-running British gangster franchise, which relocates lead character Tate – played once again by Craig Fairbrass – to Ibiza as he seeks vengeance for his best friend's murder. The film matters chiefly as a marker of the franchise's remarkable longevity, having spun the real-life story of Essex gangster Pat Tate, murdered in 1995, into a seven-instalment fictional saga still drawing cinema releases in 2026.
Directed by series veteran Nick Nevern, the film pits Tate against arms dealers, hired guns and the CIA, and is praised for stylised slow-motion action sequences likened to The Untouchables with an Ibiza club soundtrack, albeit on a fraction of the budget. The review is more critical of the clichéd dialogue and an overly baggy runtime cluttered with extra double-crossings and characters, arguing the film would benefit from focusing more tightly on Tate's revenge mission. Rise of the Footsoldier: Retribution opens in UK cinemas on 28 August.
- Seventh Rise of the Footsoldier film sends gangster Tate to Ibiza for revenge.
- Praised for stylish action, criticised for clichéd dialogue and baggy length.
- Out in UK cinemas from 28 August.
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The Rise of the Footsoldier films are British crime stories loosely based on the life of Essex gangster Pat Tate, who was murdered in 1995. The series turns that real-life background into fiction, following Tate as a hardman caught up in violence and criminal rivalries.
In this instalment, Craig Fairbrass returns as Tate and Nick Nevern directs. The story moves to Ibiza, where Tate seeks revenge for the murder of his best friend and faces arms dealers, hired guns and the CIA. The film is the seventh in a franchise that has continued for years beyond its real-life starting point.