I rate this movie with a seven because of the good acting and an easy-to-follow story. For the haters it's not a documentary but a fictional movie even though there are some scenes described from real facts, like the news stories on the television and radio, and the G8 in Genoa. The movie can't please anybody apparently, not from right wing or left wing sides. I'm a left wing and even if this movie has a lot of racism in it, and a lot of free aggression from the riot police, I still think it is an enjoyable movie to watch. There are some scenes that don't seem realistic like some football riots because there are way not enough extras available in those scenes. It's most definitely a budgetary problem but it would have been better with more hooligans and police. I've seen a lot of football violence in my life and in this movie it's just a bit simplistic. First of all the riot police are just thugs, way worse than the so-called hooligans. I've seen innocents being beaten up by those bastards plenty of times. So in that the movie is quite accurate, the excessive violence they use most of the times. There was also a lot of racism in ACAB and that's also quite accurate in modern society, where if you're an immigrant you're almost immediately being associated as a bad person, while the truth is far away from that. All honest immigrants pay the price of a minority of thugs among them. But those thugs as well as the racists are basically just the same, some selfish ignorant and greedy bastards. So all in all the movie is pleasant to watch, it's well done with the budget they have. The cast is also good. In an ideal world the police should protect and serve the population, but we're not living in an ideal world, and there are daily proofs of police brutality against the weak. Police brutality that never get punished. Police protecting civilians but who protects us from thug police? The time that being a police officer was about respect is long gone. Almost nobody has respect for the police anymore and in my eyes it's really justified. All Cops Are Bastards.

At least those riot control force policemen who are daily "cleansing" stadiums from Ultras, public demonstrations, evictions etc - as we see in this realistic Italian film. It seems that the European Union is so afraid on potential police violence and brutality that member state police units have very limited rights even if they are attacked or mocked (unlike in the U.S., for example). The result is aggregated tensions, injured policemen, problems at home, attitude change and other elements the police could/should be deprived of.The plot is somewhat documentary, resulting in a kind of aridity, fast frame interlace and hectic course of events. The cast seems strong as well, although all the actors apart from Pierfrancesco Favino (as Cobra) were unfamiliar to me. I can't say I enjoyed the film, but I liked it more than similar films made e.g. in Latin America where strong visibility of poverty and violence is too tough to follow. And finally, I am no fan of football, thus I would have a plain solution to the stadium fights...

I recently came across this movie. Looked it up, read some reviews and got more and more curious. Finally, this weekend, I actually watched A.C.A.B. and... well, I don't write much reviews, but decided to do so in this case. Why? Because while I was looking up this movie, I read really, really dumb, political oriented, crappy reviews. I guess left wing extremists love put down this movie, which is actually quite unfair. This is a small effort of mine in order to help the reader with a honest and simple review.The movie is intended to be a slice of the lives of four Italian policemen, who belong to a special unit with the mission of controlling mobs. Three are veterans, one is a rookie. What we see are pieces of their lives, both on the job and at home. They all are have different experiences, and they all have serious personnel problems. The thing about showing the "slice of live" I mentioned is that the movie ends when it does, regardless of the stories reaching a conclusion. I say this because the movie could easily go on for quite longer, but the director ends it when he considers we have seen enough. Its fine, it adds to the realism, which it what is intended in the first place.The cops portrayed in this film are sometimes excessive and tend to take matters into their own hands. What makes left wing extremists really mad is that, instead of showing cops as blood thirsty maniacs, the movie shows the context of their work and the environment they operate in. What the movie really shows is the deep, complex, problems hypocritical government policies produce.It is an Italian film, the action goes on in Italy, but it could easily take place in most European countries with minor adjustments. Mine, Portugal, is a good example of that.To make a long story short, it is a raw, honest portrait of police officers hard life, one that everyone with common sense ought to be able to understand and relate to. Not a big budget, not the best movie I've ever seen, but a hell of a nice one! I do recommend it!

A.C.A.B is a phrase I grew up with in the U.K in the early eighties and was often seen tattooed on the fingers, necks and one time forehead of skinheads. I was intrigued to see it being used in Italy, that drew me to see the film.A.C.A.B the film centers on the exploits of small group of riot police in Rome.I found it to be very well paced, realistic though budgetary constraints made the riot scenes seem a little under populated. The characters were well developed and the action scenes well directed. There was a lot of racism in the film and the direction is kind of ambivalent about it.To conclude I would urge you to watch this film and form you own opinion.