The Young Offenders

This film is true to the essence of Cork and depicts its salt of the earth characters. Being from the city there was an extra layer of appreciation as a viewer: when the shipment was cast into the ocean a bale did go missing. I'm sure there were individuals who sought a fortune like the protagonists do in this film.

I was skeptical of watching the film as I was expecting it to be drawn out, filled with obvious one liners. I was happily surprised to discover I was wrong, the film creates two lovable rogue characters who are aware at times of their failings. No cheap jokes here, the dialogue was to the point without being obvious. I didn't expect the direction the film took, and am happy to see that the film is internationally well received, winning awards in LA, Texas and London.

If you are unsure, watch the movie trailer. Comedy gold with a tongue in cheek view, beautifully shot along West Cork. Don't take the characters as true representations of Corkonians, as this is a comedy. All aspects of this film are seamless: editing, dialogue, location, casting and soundtrack. Fantastic film, refreshingly not the typical Irish cinema most would expect from Ireland.

Having watched the TV Series first and fallen in love with Conor and Jock's escapades, I finally got around to watching the film. While it is still still fun, outrageous and cringeworthy (in a good way), the film isn't as good as the series. The characters feel slightly more 2 dimensional . If I had seen the film first, I doubt I would have wanted to watch the TV series. It's still an OK film and a good length, at less than 90 minutes and you can see the green shoots of what the TV show was to become.

I expected some comedy, but this was hilarious fun. There is pace and action not dissimilar from Guy Ritchie movies. It reminded me of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels on a much lighter tone and probably twice as funny.

I absolutely loved the stylised but down to earth storytelling, and the narrative. I hope the director/writer come up with more stylised comedy like this. It is not filled with gratuitous violence. It is definitely recommended viewing.

I have given it an enthusiastic 9 because I have not laughed so much in a while. It would have still been a 7 if I laughed 50% less!!

Having recently been turned on to the BBC3 series, I noticed that the original film version is on Netflix at the moment, so decided to go back and watch that before digging further into the show.

Two teenage friends from Cork, Conor (Alex Murphy) and Jock (Chris Walley) head to the coast on stolen bikes, following a news report about a cocaine haul that was lost at sea and is washing up on a secluded beach. Despite being more adept at petty crimes, Conor and Jock see the cocaine as a way of making their fortunes. However, their repeated bike thefts have drawn the ire of Sergeant Healy (Dominic MacHale) who tracks the boys and follows them across the country.

"The Young Offenders" is a likable and funny movie. Though always willing to make a low brow joke about bodily functions or whatever, there's a depth and a wit - particularly to this movie version, that you might not anticipate. The boys are clearly slightly older than the characters that they are portraying, but their mannerisms, and the makeup and clothing choices, do help to sell the idea. They are also pretty fearless about what they are prepared to do for a laugh.

It's a road trip movie for the most part, and the film takes full advantage of its location to make the Irish coast look lovely. I saw one of the other reviewers use Guy Ritchie's films as a guidepost for this one, and that does make sense particularly at the ending. On the face of it, the conclusion is much more extreme than anything we've seen in the relatively gentle, relatively realistic preceding moments of the film. But in order to wrap up the various strands of the story, I'm willing to forgive it for the contrivance required.

Heart, laughs and scenery - it's a wonderful film.

Being from Cork myself, this film ticks all the boxes. There was a lot of talk about it, so going into see it I was feeling it might fall short, as normally films this hyped turn out shite. From the moment this film starts it is just so funny right till the end.

I'm not sure will many people outside of Ireland get the humor, but this is one of the funniest films I've seen in a very long time, as I can relate the two lads to so many people I grew up with and PJ Gallagher was brilliant as the crippled dealer. Some brilliant characters in it and every joke was right on the money. I really do hope we get a sequel!