Johnny Was

Johnny Was is a great Irish movie about criminals doing the right thing. Jones plays an ex-IRA operative trying to lay low after a bombing gone wrong until he can make a new life. Two of his old buddies (Bergin, Daltrey, Kinlin) who escape from prison and track him down to get revenge. They meet up with La Salle who is a drug dealer and Lewis the Rasta radio jock with a huge local following and Mumba who plays the drug dealers girl. They make try and scam each other until it all catches up with them in a very well thought out climax that left me with a smirk on my face. Not particularly fast paced, but the end is worth the wait.

Attended Rebelfest in Toronto where this won the Sony Audience Award and as a fellow filmmaker enjoyed meeting some of the guys involved in making it.

The mix of voices in the movie was really different - Jamaican, Irish, English and a lot of people have commented on the soundtrack of reggae, which was well used.

Some aspects were not so great - technical production left a bit to be desired, but I suppose this is low budget indie problems always.

Acting wise I think Vinnie Jones was good and while I read some comment about him not doing a good Irish accent, unless I've completely missed the point I thought he was supposed to be a Londoner whose family came from Ireland, which would mean he spoke like a Londoner - which to my ears he did.

Another small grumble is that Roger Daltrey is very good but should have had a bigger role. He has an interesting character, but it just comes and goes.

I agree with the comments on Samantha Mumba - a bit too healthy looking for a junkie. On the other hand, Lennox Lewis, who I was expecting to be just a celeb cameo did really well in an interesting role as a DJ running an illegal music station.

Anyway - we enjoyed it, so congrats to cast and crew from someone who knows how hard it is to get indie movies made.

I saw Johnny Was in Dublin and I was totally blown away by the film. The acting, the cast, the soundtrack, everything worked. At first I was a little disappointed that only a couple of the cast were there, but that quickly disappeared when the film began. I must add that I am not the type of person that has NEVER watched a Vinnie Jones film, because I'm far too scared of blood and violence, but this film is very different. It has an intelligent storyline and doesn't focus on the troubles like most other Northern Irish films. As for the ending, it is a stroke of genius. I did not expect what happened and I thought it was a wonderful way to end a fantastic film. I will definitely be showing this film to all of my friends and I wish the cast and crew all the best with it.

Only saw review DVD, but enjoyed it. Actually watched it twice, partly due to a really great reggae soundtrack, and liked it better second time.

While it is a bit rough at the edges, it has some great performances and a sort of quirky appeal. The idea of an unsafe safe house works well, and there is an interesting dynamic between Vinny Jones, Patrick Bergin and Eriq LaSalle. While it is a thriller, it does not take itself too seriously and I agree with the 'spagetti western' comments elsewhere. Nice twist in the ending and some good one-liners.

Jones gives a very solid performance a long way from his usual tough guy, Bergin is theatrical, but entertaining and Eriq LaSalle is powerful as a gangster who wants to be a businessman.

It zips along and the wall-to-wall reggae is first rate - must be about 30 or 40 tracks

What a complete surprise and what a great story. I went to the screening with a bunch of friends knowing virtually nothing about this other than the cast, which was very celeb-driven.

It looks like a little low key action movie, and in some ways it is, but the story, the quirky characters and the subject matter - about race, national identity and gangster morality - is much smarter than most of the britflicks of recent years. It is like a strange hybrid of Long Good Friday and dark almost comic-book B Movie, and the low key dialogue plays well against the violence in the background.

It completely pulled me in. Vinnie Jones had one foot in his usual hard-man act, but the other was as a much more thoughtful guy, running away from his past.

Patrick Bergin plays a larger than life veteran psycho and is responsible for most of the dark laughs. La Salle is great and the opposite of his old ER character. Talking with my friends afterwards, there was disagreement about Samantha Mumba the former pop singer. Some thought she was too low key, but I thought she played the character of a junkie gangsters girl very well. Everyone agreed that Vinnie and Lennox Lewis were the best performances. Old Rocker Roger Daltrey was also good in a smaller role.

Some of the action looked a bit wobbly, but London came out looking well, especially Brixton Market.

Our verdict: if you are looking for a big budget action movie, this isn't it. But if you are sick and tired of movies which are all flash and no substance, this one with its unusual settings and great characters that stay with you after the movie is over might be for you.