In the Land of Saints and Sinners

In the Land of Saints and Sinners shows perfectly how you make a solid movie without putting billions into special effects and explosions - just tell an old tale new with the help of a superb cast. Especially the acting shines bright in this little flick and makes the story and the characters believable. No doubt, for someone just wanting lots of bum bum and computer generated gimmicks a la Fast and Furios or Tom Cruise's quests on high octane, this won't work to well, but for someone who wants a well told story, this one will do and provide plenty. Not an excellent one but a good one for sure.

At first glance this movie looks like the typical Liam Neeson action-revenge-flick that we all have gotten used to. But "In The Land of Saints and Sinners" stand out due to great acting by a stellar supporting cast and by fantastic cinematography.

The story takes place in a small irish coastal town during the 70's. Liam Neeson plays an ex war hero now turned hitman, and when trying to turn his old sinful life around he gets in trouble with a bunch of IRA.terrorists in hidehout after a bombing in Dublin.

The movie is filled with great supporting actors such as Ciarán Hinds, Cold Meaney,Jack Gleeson and Kerry Condon. The latter was great in The Banshees of Inisherin, and in this movie she plays a fantastic villain. The overall story and dialogue is OK, but it's the acting together with the beautiful cinematography that carries this movie to an above average Liam Neeson revenge flick.

Liam Neeson seems well suited to the role as a widowed hitman going up against the IRA, probably because its on his home turf and seems more relaxed around others from the same county?

He plays well off Ciaran Hinds as the local Garda and their friendship is funny and touching.

Kerry Condon is excellent as the villian; believable and refreshing to see a female as the baddie.

I liked the scenery (obviously!) and the soundtrack is solid.

We did struggle a lot with the dialogue , the accents here are very thick so we found it difficult to follow events.

The sweet, good natured Irish villagers and their simple life seemed trite and stereotypical but it's an watchable, well acted would be 'Western'

In the land of Saints and Sinners is one of the better offerings from Liam Neeson which have been released in the last 5 or 6 years.

Set in Ireland at the time of 'The Troubles' it's pretty clear what you're going to get as soon as the film starts. And there won't be any twists and turns. But the film still entertains.

It moves along at a good pace and despite (Liam's character) Finbar being of a very dubious disposition we soon root for him against a gang of evil IRA bombers who have been blowing kids up.

The Irish scenery is beautiful and at times bleak.

The film manages to look and feel like a 70s story and the acting is very good from everyone involved.

This one is well worth a watch.

Entertaining and satisfying.

Great for a rainy night in.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners is an Irish Western that prioritises its characters over any action which makes it one of the better Liam Neeson vehicles of recent memory. It covers familiar ground in an effectively old fashioned way, operating as a slow burn and all the better for it.

Liam Neeson is on top form here. He's consistently engaging even if nothing is happening and with this focusing on the character work, he gets to show off more of his dramatic chops. Jack Gleeson has a roguish charm and Kerry Condon is a pretty ruthless villain despite the odd bit of sympathy.

Robert Lorenz's direction is thoroughly old school, all the way down to playing the credits over a final extended scene. It's workmanlike in its construction with some gorgeous scenery. Diego Baldenweg's score has a mournful quality that's an ideal fit for a film that's obsessed with the emotional toll of the violence opposed to the thrill of it.