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Every single Hollywood cliche in a movie made for prepubescent boys, this film disappoints. Bad guy wins against all odds. Loyal friend who won't stop trying, including the cliche of biting his lip. Smallest hero voices the "common man" thoughts.. well common boy thoughts. "We just gotta try Auntie M. We jus gotta, gosh darn it." Setting up for the impossible conundrum of choices every one of these cliche films have... the little guy will have the answer! Approach the speed of light & I'll have enough power to turn it back on and get our hero back. Cliche #418, but he'll be an evil version of the good hero & we'll battle him until we are near death & then he'll save the film by suddenly restoring his good guy side. Gheesh. Cliche to death. But for 13 year old boys who only play video games in their mom's basement, this movie will be tops.

But it is, really. Aside from the theme of hitmen, IRA bombings, innocent lives caught in the crosshairs of violence and brutal mayhem, it is a film about the gentle nature of the Irish, the power of redemption & hope. The principal actors do a brilliant subtle job of depicting real Irish people in the midst of it all. Quaint customs. Long sufferings. Eternal tolerance & civility. Joy in the smallest parts of life, despite the obscenity of sectarian strife. Neesom plays his part very well; completely authentic. The IRA terrorists portrayed accurately as bottom dwelling idgits stuck on the path of hatred and false Republicanism. Nothing destroys evil intent like daily mundane life mucking it all up for the terrorists. Well worth your time. I've spent many days in similar villages & pubs in the South and it's incredible how real the film feels, pacing, lighting, layering of story.

So, the premise was ok, not great. Voodoo magic medicine turns kid into lethal superpowered hunter with intrinsic survival skills. But the film really started lacking Oscar sized when a completely unbelievable Russel Crowe comes on set. Bad, hacked accent. Bad Dad cliche. Mom taken from the kids, so Dad could mold them without restraint into the man he was. Script is horrible, not just bad. 3rd graders in drama class could do better and probably have a better vocabulary. The film is shot badly in very dark scenes to give it mood. Literally dark, like insufficient to make out actors faces, movements. And then there's the omnipresent Russian Red October soundtrack. And lots of music-video MTV ala 1980s quality moments. When a counterpart love interest (black female vixen atty) comes on board, she's suddenly a weapons expert & archer extraordinaire. The antagonist, called Rino, is meant to be intimidatingly evil... but comes off as silly. And the monologuing to tell the story the director couldn't be bothered shooting? The monologuing itself is horrible... never have so many given so much for so little. This superhero antihero belongs behind Antman & Black Panther.