Customer Reviews

50 Dead Men Walking [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This story is based on the true story of a northern Irish man (Jim McGArtland) who joins the IRA and is also a informant for the government who is trying to stop the IRA's often random slaughter of people (terrorism) that was occurring during the late 1980's. To be fair the IRA was enforcing law when things were breaking down as well; but often they would target whole pubs or such for a murderous attack. And they were a terrorist organization who tortured people to death. (touts or informants in particular). The informant working the police is able to stop many attacks and he saves at least 50 men who were personally targeted. Hence the title of the movie. "50 dead men walking", men who were doomed but still alive because of the informant. Will the informant survive?, and what happens when MI-5 acts just as brutally against a IRA man? This story is one that deserves to be told and the acting is excellent. This is a solid movie featuring the always excellent Ben Kingsley as the man who oversees the informant. Rose McGowen shines in a supporting role as the ruthless head of IRA intelligence who will use her assets to kill or gain information. Every actor including the young lead Jim Sturgess play believable people who are driven by the hideous conditions (economic poverty, violence, racial intolerance, political fanaticism) of Northern Ireland that existed then. One IMPORTANT thing about this movie is that you may want to use the English subtitles because the northern Irish speak very quickly in their own slang English which is understandable but not that easy to follow without the subtitles. The blu- ray print is excellent and is well mastered so you won't have a problem with it in anyway. This was made by the Irish but it is as professional as any movie made by anyone else. In other words this is a gritty realistic drama that pulls no punches and is well made. It features a number of deleted scenes as well that were cut from the flick , some should have stayed in but most are character building scenes. This is not a low budget badly made movie at all, it's a good mostly TRUE story about sacrifices and about the hard choices that the informant is facing while he infiltrates the IRA. This was directed by Kari Skogland who knows how to direct a decent movie and lets hope she keeps directing and continues to improve as a director.

3.3 stars

50DMW was enjoyable on some fronts, especially Kingsley's acting and some great moments in the script, but I just couldn't buy Sturgess as Martin. He never made me feel for him one way or the other, I saw no real motivation for selling his friends out, and he just didn't seem at all believable.

Skogland's directing is solid, as is the script for the most part, but the occasionally brutal violence and tortures left me disliking both sides of the conflict equally. If Sturgess had been more sympathetic this film would have worked so much better for me. But maybe that's the point: he was what he was, neither good nor bad (or very bad, if you're pro-IRA).

I don't know enough about the "Troubles" to say who's right or wrong. My heart tends to side with home rule, but when one looks at all the innocent people dead on both sides it adds up to nobody being right. This movie could have made me feel so much more but Sturgess just seems on the fence in every way throughout, and by the end I was happy to see it all end, leaving me feeling that nothing had really been accomplished but more pain and death, despite the claim he saved 50 lives.

He sure didn't come off as much of a hero here, and ultimately all the violence just felt pointless. The film raises many questions and answers none, which may be the point. But I didn't feel like I learned much, or enjoyed it much, and without one or the other I can't say I loved any film, no matter how competent it may be. I did enjoy some of the supporting acting a fair bit, in any case, and Kingsley is excellent as always.

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, January 10

American gangster movies tend to either glorify the mafia, or make it into a joke (Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas", etc.). This movie is a very brutal and realistic view of the IRA and the situation in northern Ireland. The acting is first rate. Ben Kingsley is excellent, and I wanted to write down some of his statements (on the IRA men: "They are killers who just found something to kill for"). The violence is brutal and realistic. We see men shot dead drinking pints of ale and blown up in vans and shot dead in front of their children. We see the British military bashing teenagers with rifle butts. I agree though, that this movie, although VERY informative about the situation in Ireland in the 1980s, is really ultimately a human story, and not a political one. This story could easily be transposed to Algeria, or Israel-Palestine, or Tibet, or anywhere that there is a conflict. I think also that any American who "supports" the IRA should be "forced" to watch this movie. I now know why my local Irish pub owner where I live - from Dublin and who has seen this story up close - refuses to serve "Irish Car bombs", but will serve you an "Irish Peacemaker" instead !

There is no denying the dramatic appeal and potential inherent in the film "50 Dead Men Walking." Based on the life of Martin McGartland, the film tells the story of a low level street hustler in 1980's Belfast who gets recruited by the British police to infiltrate an IRA cell. As he moved up the ranks, he provided key information about terrorist activities that saved the lives of upwards of fifty known targets (hence, the title). The story, without a doubt, had all the makings of a true crime epic. And yet, despite good performances, something never rings quite true in the portrayal of the lead character. Or, at a minimum, his tale seems to lack a completeness or a candid honesty.

Jim Sturgess, always a good choice, plays Martin with a self-assured bluster. Big talk, bravado, and a myriad of petty crimes have brought him to the attention of a British police handler (Ben Kingsley) who brings Martin in as a resource. At first Martin wants nothing of it--but joins on for a free car, because his friend got shot, and/or because he wants to woo his friend's sister. I'm not really sure there is a compelling reason as presented in the movie, but there is positively no political motivation at all. Despite being nothing more than a glorified messenger, somehow Sturgess rises and rises. Again, we see very little in his depiction that would have distinguished him as a star for the IRA. At one point, he has to pass the test of killing someone--and the screenplay even backs out of that. I guess the film was afraid of alienating the hero from the audience, but I don't think you can exist with completely clean hands in this kind of world (especially if you keep getting more and more responsibility).

But despite the film's shortcomings, I still enjoyed Sturgess. His bond with Kingsley provides an intriguingly human side plot. The scenes between them are easily the most heartfelt moments. Rose McGowan and Kevin Zegers provide strong support. The movie is well made, there is much tension in the final scenes, and the action is orchestrated with precision. I wished I believed it all a bit more--that the screenplay had let me see the darkness inside of Martin that apparently (in real life) the IRA did. Overall, an effective film that misses being truly great due to this fact--for me anyway. About 3 1/2 stars, I'll round up for the performances. KGHarris, 4/11.

This is one of the best movies I have had the good fortune to view. Jim Sturgess is totally convincing as Martin McGartland, a young Belfast Catholic man who lives in a neighborhood controlled by the IRA in 1988. A combination of cash, a car, and disgust with the brutal tactics used by the IRA lead him to become an informant for the RUC, the Unionist police force in Northern Ireland. McGartland does not come off as a hero; he is rather immature, yet he is tough as steel. The talented Ben Kingsley is Fergus, McGartland's "handler" in the RUC. Like Sturgess, Kingsley shines in his role. The supporting cast was also very strong. The acting impressed me as being remarkably natural. No one overacted. Everyone was believable. It had the feel of a genuine documentary.

The direction of Kari Skogland is outstanding. She is nonjudgmental; the film recognizes the rationale and excesses of both sides. It captures an often dreary Belfast and the physical decay caused in large part by decades of sectarian violence. In her audio commentary track Skogland points out that she had a hard time finding run-down areas in today's "New Belfast," a peaceful Belfast.

This film, quoting the opening matter, was "inspired" by the autobiographical account of McGartland. A quick online search revealed that he is not happy with parts of the film because he feels they are inaccurate. Be that as it may, and not denying the importance of McGartland's feelings, the film is a brilliant work of art.

Knowing the history behind this film I was looking forward to watching it. I was to be very disappointed. The film is very slanted in it's account of the war. It starts by doing a voice over amid pictures of violence suggesting that the British army was sent into act as peacemakers. This period of the conflict relates to a series of marches (inspired by the civil rights marches in the US) Irish nationalists engaged in to demand equal civil rights. The British army reacted with violence against the marches most famously in Derry when they murdered 13 innocent people and lied for years afterward about what happened. Just last year the new British government admitted the truth and apologized. This sets the films tone with the British portrayed as just trying to keep the peace and as good guys which simply isn't truthful and not backed up historically. At the end there is some additional information given about things that happened after the time frame of the film. They state that after the good friday agreement the British army withdrew it's troops. This is not true. There are still in the region of 5,000 British troops there.

As a Catholic in Belfast in the '80's, Martin McGartland, learned that life was tough whatever side you were on. Martin started out as tough kid on the streets and ended up a man on the run.

Jim Sturgess plays Martin McGarland, the Belfast hustler, who plays both sides of the game. His actions with the IRA brings him to the attention of Fergus played by Ben Kingsley. Fergus is a British Operative who becomes Martin's mentor. Through several run-ins with the law, Fergus talks Martin into working for him and his country. This film is all action, and as time moves on we understand some of the motivation of Martin. He has a girlfriend and soon a babe and the money from the Brits is the deciding factor. This is a story of one man, who leads a life full of violence and terror. He is shown the body of a Brit who was tortured for 58 days before he was killed- enough to convince anyone to get out of the game? No way out, is there boy?

This is a fascinating look at the life of a man who is trapped in a maze. He starts out for the money and then little by little we wonder if he is won over. In the course of his life as conspirator he saved 50 men from death. Was it worth it? Is he a reluctant hero? Gotta ask Martin, if you can find him.

Recommended. prisrob 02-07-09

Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)

You Kill Me

"Fifty dead men walking" is a film unjustifiably overlooked by many. Based on real facts and inspired by an important witness (Martin McGartland).

Crude, violent but engaging, the film shows us how a small delinquent of Belfast in the late eighties, unworried about the political background of the struggle between Catholics and protestants, and how he is engaged as veiled informer of the IRA terrorist schedule.

A singular and bold film that brought to my mind the two best films of the nineties about this issue: "Hidden Agenda" and "In the name of the father".

Jim Sturgess gives an vibrant performance, as well as Ben Kingsley (Fergus) and Kevin Zegers (Sean). An impeccable direction makes of this young promise an auspicious career.

Recommended without restrictions.

*
This is a well-made, interesting, and entertaining film rooted in historical circumstances and enacted by first-rate actor Ben Kingsley who maintains a great Irish accent throughout.

In the leading rôle Jim Sturgess is quite good, as is the popular Rose McGowan; Nathalie Press of Greenaway's Nightwatching is a knockout.

Fifty Dead Men is based on the true story of IRA undercover informant Martin McGartland, and withal provides some idea of the difficult circumstances of the troubled Emerald Isle.

The Irish are a remarkable people: keen-witted, sentimental, and cruel.

The film is intensely watchable.
*
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