Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

irazig I am unable to provide an accurate review of this film for one reason: NO SUBTITLES! How do you distribute this film on DVD and streaming without the one necessary tool needed to fully understand the dialogue. The accents are very thick and after 30 minutes, I decided to stop trying. If they are not going to provide subtitles, I'm not going to struggle through it. I need the subtitles because, at my age, I am slightly hard of hearing, so I always use close captioning / subtitles. Add the fact that it is difficult to pick up what the characters are saying and it's a waste of time. Too bad because it appears to be a good film!!

gradyharp 50 DEAD MEN WALKING is an unusually powerful film that brings to the screen the real life story of Martin McGartland on whose book it is based (with co-writer Nicholas Davies). Director Kari Skogland has managed to recreate the flavors of the 1980s in Ireland at war with the British. The violence in the film may be difficult for some viewers but it so integrated with the story that it would not seem as fine a film without it. Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess) was a fly-by-night, door-to-door salesman in Belfast in the 80s. He is bonded with mates such as Sean (Kevin Zegers) among others and they manage to get into all manner of trouble until they are united with the IRA (Irish Republican Army) to defeat the British: of note at the end of the film, the British were in Ireland as occupiers for a total of 38 years, ending only in 2008 with a peace treaty! Martin feels a sense of duty with the IRA and is observed by the British intelligence, namely one Fergus (Sir Ben Kingsley) who convinces Martin to join forces as a 'tout' or informer within the IRA. It is this play of double lives that brings McGartland to a terrifying life, a life made whole only by his love for his girlfriend Lara (Natalie Press) and their children (born and unborn). The struggle Martin endures between loyalty to his mates and loyalty to the British who see Martin's role as one that could save the lives of at least '50 Dead Men Walking' is the line of the film that never lets up for a moment of rest in its demonstration of the futility of 'war', no matter what level. Jim Sturgess is superb as Martin and the large supporting cast is as fine as any casting director could find. This is a very intense film, a film so true to the Irish brogue that subtitles are necessary to understand much of the story. It is a film well worth viewing, especially if the confusion about the long Irish/British war is not clearly understood by the viewer. Grady Harp

blood_summit MINOR SPOILER WARNINGSI watched this a couple of days ago. I didn't really expect much from it. The author Martin McGartland (a former RUC tout in the PIRA before going on the run) disowned the film since it deviated from the original story in a few ways. However, I was surprised as to how good it actually was. Ben Kingsley does well as the Special Branch officer and comes across as hardened but still carrying a grey morality with him.Jim Sturgess is plausible as a West Belfast Jack-the-lad come PIRA member/police informer and Northern Ireland actually feels like Northern Ireland in the late 1980s.Though its only fairly loosely based around McGartland's story, It is well shot and deals with the troubles in a gritty manner that pulls no punches. There is no flag waving or finger pointing, just the simple depiction of "how it was" and its really believable. The grey morality of what was a horrendous and destructive conflict it was and how each side were doing some extremely underhand things really shows on screen. This is how it is shown to the audience.Of course there are parts - such as one towards the end - which contains some willing suspension of disbelief but fortunately doesn't cause any serious damage and the relationship between McGartland and his girlfriend worked in the plot's context.Rose Magowan surprised me as well. While I was expecting the worst from her and was dreading a horrendous "Devil's Own" Brad Pitt accent, I was pleased to see that her grasp of the Ulster brogue was relatively good (okay not perfect but better than I expected). Her "femme fatal" character was fairly well written and was faintly threatening even if her hairstyle was a little bit on the clichéd side.This was a damn sight better than that festering turd called "The Devil's Own" and offers a full and unapologetic insight into the conflict while being a decent thriller.Of course the fact that the film is "loosely" based around McGartland's original story doesn't detract from the fact that as a film it's excellent.The finale is quite touching but I'll say no more than that.I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a decent troubles based drama/thriller.

bob the moo As with any film on Northern Ireland it is good to see the message board full of debate about who the "good guys" were in Northern Ireland, who was in the right, who was in the wrong etc etc with occasionally someone talking about the film. I'll leave all of that to those guys but, as one has to do with these films for some reason, I will lay out my colours for all to see. Although I moved away around age 20, I was born in Belfast and grew up as a Protestant in North Antrim. I don't think I brought any of that to this film but for some that will be enough to explain why I didn't like this film.Actually, it will probably be enough for viewers from both side of that political spectrum because the film manages to be such a thing that it is possible to side with both the IRA and the police/army. To a certain point this is a good thing because it asks you to sympathise/dislike both groups, which is true I guess because in the conflict nobody is 100% right or wrong – both sides have fundamental points but yet have done so much wrong as to make them a distant memory. However, this is only "to a point" because it doesn't strike me as a deliberate thing so much as it is a side-effect of the film not really getting to the heart of the matter or the characters. The Northern Ireland of the film is secondary to the central "Donnie Brasco-esquire" story, which again is not a problem in and of itself, just that you're not used to that with Northern Irish films, but it does cause a problem because by not doing a good job of laying out a convincing base, the film does feel a little superficial.This is made more evident by the way it is directed but also the way that accuracy is often set aside in favour of having set pieces and action. Such sequences don't really work and stand out awkwardly as being out of place and not belonging in a film set in this time and place – it is not as bad as The Devil's Own in this regard but you get my point. All this aside though, the film should work in the same way Donnie Brasco did because I didn't come to that film moaning about the lack of convincing mob detail etc etc but rather really enjoyed it as a film. Sadly the things that this film should be taking from Donnie Brasco and repeating are lacking. This problem comes from the material because it doesn't engage as it should and the characters, beyond Lara, don't do that much. To be precise what I felt was missing was key relationships for Martin. His relationship with his handler isn't that good in their shared scenes, while he lacks a "Lefty" in the IRA. This takes away the majority of the opportunities for scenes in which the strain comes through and we get to see conflicting sides of Martin, like we did in Donnie Brasco, and this is a shame because it does mean the film loses a lot.It is still a solid watch though, so don't take my negativity as a sign that it was awful – just that it seemed to miss a lot of what it could and should have been doing. It is all helped a lot though by Sturgess in the lead. Now part of me wonders why more actual Northern Irish actors couldn't have been used at that level but Sturgess does do a good job and clearly could have done more with better and more complex material. Funnily enough Kingsley is part of the problem. He is far too stiff and too clearly "acting" – he prevents much in the way of chemistry and does nothing to tell us how he was able to reach Martin. The supporting cast do their turns reasonably well but only Press really stands out as she brings a bit of emotion and discussion to the film.Overall Fifty Dead Men Walking is more about what it is not rather than what it is. As a film set in the troubles, it doesn't do a particularly good job depicting them. As a thriller it doesn't manage to be engaging enough to thrill. As a Donnie Brasco type story set in Northern Ireland (which is what it is) it doesn't do the things that made that film successful. It is still OK in most regards but it never really becomes the film it should have been.