Boston Kickout (1995) – Film Review

Director: Paul Hills
Cast: John Simm, Andrew Lincoln, Marc Warren
Certificate: 18

By Roger Crow

If there’s one mental phrase that resounds during Boston Kickout it’s “Don’t they look young?”

Bursting with a cast of ‘before-they-were-famous’ stars in waiting, including Andrew Lincoln, John Simm and Marc Warren, the movie is a feast of nostalgia for anyone growing up in the eighties and nineties.

The plot: In the ‘80s Phil’s father up-and-moved the family from an inner-city slum to Stevenage, in the hope of a brighter future. Now it’s the early ‘90s and that dream has crumbled. Phil (Simm) and his friends have left school and fall into a bewildering world of unemployment, violence and drug abuse.

“Incompetent villain”

Then, Ted (Lincoln) disappears, Steve (Richard Hanson) is trying to live up to his parents’ expectations with a proper job and loved-up Matt (Nathan Valente) gets engaged, leaving Phil out on a limb. Alienated from his friends and unhappy with his life, Phil gets involved with Steve’s bad lad brother Robert (Warren, especially good), a dangerously incompetent villain who is forever planning his one ‘big job’ that’ll change his fortunes.

Now he’s trapped between two worlds – the criminal and the banal. When his cousin Shona (Emer McCourt) turns up, it gives Phil the kick up the derrière he needs.

Writer/director Paul Hills does a fine job with a tale best described as a cleaner, less traumatic version of Trainspotting, made in an analogue age before mobile phones dominated the world.

The latest version, released for the movie’s 30th anniversary, looks and sounds great.

“Creative forces”

EastEnders fans will spot Derek Martin before he found fame as Charlie Slater. A great soundtrack too, and the film is far more memorable than Hills’ 2010 offering with Warren and Rosie Fellner, Do Elephants Pray, which sadly vanished.

Interesting to note that Danny Cannon was one of the producers in the same year he made Judge Dredd and went on to become one of the most successful creative forces in American TV.

So it’s pretty good, but doesn’t quite reach the level of outstanding. Well worth a look regardless.

Roger Crow( Writer )

Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
crowsfeat.com; nostalgiahhh film podcast

You do not have any posts.

FAQs – Boston Kickout (4K restoration)

What is Boston Kickout about?

Phil leaves school in early-90s Stevenage and drifts between unemployment, drugs and petty crime, torn between a banal life and a dangerous “big job” with a local chancer.

Who directed it?

Paul Hills – he also supervised the new 4K restoration for the 30th anniversary release.

Who stars in it?

John Simm as Phil, with early turns from Andrew Lincoln and Marc Warren, plus Emer McCourt and Richard Hanson.

Why do people compare it to Trainspotting?

Both chart youth, addiction and dead-end choices in the 90s – but this is a cleaner, more low-key, social-realist take.

Where and when is it set?

Stevenage in the early 1990s – after a hopeful 80s move from an inner-city slum fails to deliver a better life.

How long is the film?

105 minutes.

What’s notable about the cast?

It’s a time capsule of future UK stars – Simm, Lincoln and Warren before breakout roles – plus a pre-EastEnders Derek Martin cameo.

What’s the tone?

Gritty yet humane – a coming-of-age crime drama with nostalgia for 80s and 90s Britain rather than shock tactics.

How is the new edition different?

A new 4K restoration with improved picture and sound, released for the 30th anniversary in a limited 2-disc UHD + Blu-ray set.

What special features are included?

Two commentaries (2004 with John Simm, 2025 with Marc Warren), deleted scenes with optional commentary, a making-of, storyboard comparisons, trailers, stills, director bio, poster and more.

What music is on the soundtrack?

Era-defining 90s bands – The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and Oasis – underpin the film’s time and place.

Who will enjoy it?

Fans of British social-realist drama, 90s UK cinema, and viewers curious to see Simm, Lincoln and Warren before their later hits.

Is it a hidden gem or a classic?

A solid, award-winning 90s indie – not quite top-tier, but memorable and well worth a look, especially in its new restoration.