The Rack Pack (2016)

Thanks for the memories!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The Rack Pack is right up my street. I was big into snooker in the 80's and 90's . The time when the sport was massive and it had some larger than life personalities. None larger than the focus of this film Alex "Hurricane Higgins" Higgins. I never liked Higgins very much back then because being from Plumstead I was a big Davis fan . This BBC film doesn't sugar coat Higgins at all. it's quite brutal in it's portrayal and because of that I have to compliment the director Brian Welsh . Probably the most impressive thing about this is the casting. Luke Treadaway is great as Higgins ( the accent strays a little at times) as is Will Merrick as Steve Davis but the inspirational piece of casting is Kevin Bishop as Barry Hearn. Bishop got Hearn down to a T. I absolutely loved this film and if the BBC keep producing dramas like this they can have no complaints from me about the licence fee.

In the 1970's the BBC show Pot Black started to create some TV personalities like Ray Rearden and Dennis Taylor. Who would have thought that a program about two men taking turns to hit balls with sticks would be popular but it took off. Pretty soon the world championship snooker tournament was being televised. Millions of viewers proved they had the desire and stamina to watch games that lasted hours, interest in the players grew and the prize money rocketed.The Rack Pack documents snooker's rise in popularity and how it alternatively made and broke two people. It focuses on Alex Higgins and Steve Davis. We see one personality being created from almost a blank canvas. On the other hand we see a dynamic personality destroyed by inner demons, be repaired and then self destruct.In parts this film is funny, sad, informative and made me reflect on the need for identifiable personalities in sport. Do we need "bad" boys in our viewing before we really engage? At 88 minutes this film isn't as long as some snooker frames and is well worth your time.

Just watched the Rack Pack on iPlayer and thought it was great, very amusing and moving in turns. The performances were very good, but I can't help feeling they made Steve Davis seem a little bit too nerdy in the early days, asking the manager of the first snooker club about the pockets and the slate for instance. Whilst I'm not denying Alex Higgins' talent, I did think the programme focused more on him, and made him the real main character. Personally, I was never that fond of him as a 'character' and have always admired Steve Davis for the way he handled himself, even moreso now as a respected presenter and commentator of snooker. Also, I'm sure all the real life people gave their approval to the portrayals on film, but I don't think Jimmy White has done himself any favours by agreeing to how he was portrayed in this drama. Finally, these 'real life' docu-dramas always leave me wondering how accurate they are, was Higgins really so rude to Cliff Thorburn and his wife, so that Thorburn laid into him physically. But overall, very enjoyable and watchable, and very well acted.

Great idea for a story and was immediately interested but from when I first watched the trailer, I thought, why oh why do they hire English actors to play Ulstermen? Plenty of good Irish actors out there and Luke Treadaway just isn't up to it. Perhaps those with little Irish contact will not notice but it disappointed me from the start.Apart from that it was quite entertaining and a glimpse into the start of snooker as we know it. I met Barry Hearn around 84 as a young kid. I wish I would've met Alex Higgins. Hope Alex is right and the miracle happens and Jimmy does finally become world champion!. I hope his daughter gets paid for this too. The film is about Alex and he's dead, she should get royalties