Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

supermaggie A riveting and well-balanced story about an important subject. When I was a child in the 80ies, I was more afraid of the Red Army Faction than a nuclear bomb from the Russians (or US Americans) due to the cold war. Equally I was and have always been more touched by the bloody destructive struggle between the Northern Irish and the English than by WWII (and I am not at all saying that one is objectively worse than the other, I am just saying that mankind has committed so many unspeakable, horrible sins and crimes all over the millenia, it is ridiculous to focus on the bad Russians and bad Germans alone and forget all the horrid, disgusting rest - if we want to learn from history/the past, we have to include all of it, and unfortunately, Northern Ireland - or the Gaza strip - etc. are still not entirely at peace). And the movie (like many other great movies about this subject) makes clear why: neighbors/brothers/for the rest of the world pretty much members of the same nation hating each other so much, that some Irish (even children) do not hesitate to shoot defenseless English soldiers in the face without any scruples or remorse - yes rather with pride and joy. And the English did not behave any better, they were the invaders of course, I am not judging or picking one side, because both sides have acted awful and used violence and there is nothing worse than violence and throwing bombs -no matter if it happens in Europe, in Africa, or elsewhere, and spreading hate with words and accusations is not less bad/dangerous. So, in order to keep in mind, that there are problems worldwide and hate and violence never works but gets everybody killed or suffering, this is a great movie, highly recommended, balanced, gripping, and well-acted. And it shows how intransparent and chaotic these situations get (Irish fighting Irish, English fighting English) - operating with hate and aggression is just a mess and helps noone.

Harrison Tweed (Top Dawg) It's been done so many times before, I didn't have high expectations going into this film. I have to now say, it's one of the best war action drama thrillers!This film is brilliant in every aspect; directing, screenplay, cinematography, editing and acting. My only critique would be some loose plot issues and I would have liked to see some more character development.Aside from that, a fun thrilling ride that is a must see film. It's a 9/10 from me.

magnuslhad In the early days of The Troubles, a group of young soldiers are sent to support an RUC search for weapons. The situation spirals out of control, and one greenhorn ends up separated from his comrades and gets left behind. There then follows a long night in Belfast, as SAS, young Provos, UVF and senior IRA men all come across the soldier and try to manipulate him for their own agenda. "We take care of our own," say senior officers, but the film shows the truth to be anything but. This is a low-budget film that does an excellent job of exceeding its fiscal limitations to fashion a taught, gritty thriller. In essence it is one long chase movie on foot, but it never flags, and all dialogue and period detail is plausibly authentic. I would have liked to know more about the soldier, to be more emotionally invested in his character. There is a relationship with a younger brother that bookends the film, but it is an under-developed part of the story. A tale of one man's fight against horrible odds, and no knowledge of Ulster's history is required to enjoy this. The folly of war, and man's cruelty to man vividly dissected.

jc-osms This British-made film was a tense, frightening but ultimately unbelievable watch. The story line is very simple, a young English soldier is pitched into Belfast at the height of the Troubles in 1971 and gets separated from his colleagues while they try to defuse a riot in the Catholic area of town. After a fellow-soldier he tries to assist is ruthlessly shot in the face and killed by a young Nationalist, he runs for his life ending up he knows not where, only that he's lost, in great danger at every turn and must get back safely to his company or risk the same fate as his mate.The sense of realism is palpable and you almost feel like you're watching an old TV newsreel of old, so true to life do the events seem. Most nights back in the early 70's, atrocities like this filled the evening news, so much so that they became less than shocking to so commonplace did they become. Belfast at the time was a divided city right down the Shanklands Road fault line, with young militants coming to the fore, feeling big with a gun in their hand, thinking themselves almost untouchable as they dispensed summary justice if that's the right phrase to young men doing their job, not much older than them and with no real feeling for the political issues of the day. Of course the Provisional IRA saw the British Army as an occupying force and so declared war on them, with the soldiers unable to take any sort of official retaliatory action. Where the film is very good is in its depiction of Belfast as a war-torn city. You share Jack O'Connell's young soldier's sense of displacement and rising terror as he tries to get back to base but bumps into various people who he doesn't know are friend or foe. Behind the scenes, the local police chief will do little to help the search and he and his second-in-command care nothing for the missing soldier's welfare. Corrupt and above the law, they're little different from the callous, cold-blooded gang they're pursuing.Although the action is gripping and gritty, I think the film took too much cinematic licence with the drama shown here, never more so than in the last-gasp rescue just when it seemed his luck had ran out, while some of the supporting characters seemed just too stereotypical, for example the young Loyalist boy who swears like a trooper and gives orders like he's the supremo rather than being his uncle's nephew. Later McConnell encounters a Protestant bomb team who bungle their task with devastating effects, a retired Protestant man and his teenage daughter who take him in and tend to his wounds and of course the young Catholic gang out for his blood.Strikingly realistic and unflinching in its depiction of violence, the film makes no judgement on the characters on both sides of the argument. There's not much political debate, just an "us and them" mentality fuelled by bloodlust and inbred hatred of the other side purely on religious grounds.This film was at times hard to watch as the scared and scarred soldier tries to make his escape through the sprawling housing estate at dead of night, but while the depiction was super-real, I just wasn't quite convinced that the events played out here could have actually occurred, especially with the cinematic licence taken at the climax. Nevertheless, it was extremely well acted and tellingly evocative of its time, it certainly brought back unwelcome memories of a terrible time one can only hope Northern Ireland has put behind it for good.