Strength and Honour

We just went to see this movie tonight and i was blown away by the whole production, the story was very true to life, the performances were outstanding especially by Vinnie Jones who plays Smasher O'Driscoll, Michael Madsen as Sean Kelleher, Gail Fitzpatrick as Mammy Mc Grath, Michael Rawley as Chaser and Luke Whelton as Mickey Kelleher. It was so refreshing to see Michael Madsen play the good guy as Mickeys father as opposed to his usual hard-guy roles. Vinnie Jones was made for his part as Smasher O' Driscoll and reminded me of Brad Pitt in Snatch. Strength and Honour was both humorous and emotional with electric bare knuckle fight scenes. it gave an excellent insight into the travelling community and their way of life. The music was incredible also not to mention the beautiful Irish scenery. Definitely one to go and view for yourself over the holiday season. A feel good movie with a punch.

I just came from 'Strength and Honour' and was completely blown away. It was shot beautiful, the performances were amazing especially from Madsen, Jones, Rawley and Fitzpatrick (Mammy) and the score was fantastic.

I remember reading once that the definition of art is something that provokes two opposing views. The director has certainly achieved this as people seem to love or hate, with no middle ground.

The script covers lots of ground at the start, but I believe that this is fine. When you go to the cinema, we have to use our imagination a little bit too. On that note though, this is a fictional piece, not a documentary.

Well worth an hour and a half of your time!

I saw Strength and Honour last night. I expected a lot and was let down. I walked out of the cinema talking about some faults it had. I slept on it and when I woke up I realised that there was so much more wrong with this film. I think it was the worst film I saw this year. It is set and filmed in Cork, Ireland (my hometown) so I really want to say it was amazing. It was just a massive letdown. It wasn't even a movie that was 'so bad it's good/funny', it was just a horribly acted, poorly written piece of clichéd rubbish. I applaud that the 1st time Director Mahon has put his heart and soul into this and I must admit the film is beautifully shot, but how this movie got produced is beyond me. I think that he should get some help with writing from a Hollywood veteran because his idea was good. I hope his next film about Brian Boru starring Leo diCaprio will be much better. This film simply deserves the Razzie for worst film(for being oblivious to how bad it is) and worst performance(by Madsen). Madsen is a great actor, but this role was not for him. It pains me to say it, but Strength and Honour is a stinker that should be avoided at all costs. I hear there's a sequel in the pipeline...but I have a question...why?

This is an excellent film. Perhaps it is a bit old fashioned because it is inundated with moral decisions and high ideas. The purity of the film is superb. This film has similarities to the most recent Rocky and Cinderella man but with a low budget. It is not cynical but it has many sad moments and a realism about the frequency that death affects the lives of people. It is also a film that addresses family loyalty. It is very complimentary to Ireland but only covers a small section of the society.

Perhaps, reviewers believe that a young boy has to be sarcastic like in a show like the Simpsons. But this kid is genuine. The relationship between father and son is not some twisted argumentative thing. This film at its heart is about heroes. It is certain to annoy both extreme left and right wing people who believe all people are flawed fools.

Language. I am not a linguist so I do not know if the language was perfect Irish accent. But it certainly would encourage people to go to Ireland. The boxing scenes were no more brutal than Rocky; There was a small amount of swearing and no sleazy scenes. I took my 13 year old daughter to see this film. She loved it. Michael Madsen is a fine actor and the role is a great. It was an entirely adult audience that seemed to like this film with applause at the end. Too bad that this film is likely to slip below the radar.

This film is rubbish. Lazy, join the dots 'storytelling'. It purports to be about Ireland but unless you believe that Darby O'Gill lives with the little people there is no credibility whatsoever; could have been made 50 years ago and even then would have been crap.

There is no attempt to address Ireland in the noughties, the Celtic Tiger, the boom, the me culture, immigration or whatever. Just another Oirish pastiche for some gullible Americans - who must be sick of this rubbish as well.

How this film got made mystifies me but perhaps therein lies a more interesting story.

I'm from Cork so no 'anti Cork' bias stuff please..This movie is the worst tripe I've seen in years and makes me embarrassed to be Irish and a Corkonian.

Avoid, avoid, avoid.