Route Irish

It's hard to peel your eyes away from this one. It's not that there's a lot happening in Route Irish or that there's much action to be had, but it's more about the way the story unfolds, and the story elements it canvasses.

This more of a slow-burn mystery thriller, as you're left guessing throughout the entire film, nearly right up to the end, as to "who dun-it?" regarding the death of a relatively upstanding PMC named Frankie, the friend of the main character, Fergus.

A large portion of the film -- as bits and pieces unravel the murder-mystery of Frankie's death -- is about the PTSD and guilt of the soldiers/PMCs who survived their ordeals in Iraq while also dealing with the carnage, chaos, and abhorrent acts they committed while there.

This film -- like many other reviewers pointed out -- doesn't pull any punches. Interspersed throughout the story are grisly images of death and carnage; bloody and burned carcasses removed from explosive-hewn rubble.

However, the film isn't about the lack of humanity that these PMCs doled out overseas, but rather how far removed they've become from their own humanity in their homeland, and the disconnect civilians have with people who engaged in unspeakable war-crimes.

There are really no good guys here, but the film doesn't want you to dwell so much on that as is the fact that under the right pretenses seemingly good men can go bad when given the green light in a foreign country where the rules can be bent and broken at will.

In any case, Route Irish is a hard hitting film. It is slow, though. Some people may have a hard time with the pace and the fact that there aren't any traditional action sequences, which may put some people off. It's not a quick-edited mystery film either, with lots of snappy dialogue or fanciful set pieces. No chase scenes. No fisticuffs.

This is about as grounded and realistic a mystery-thriller as you can get. It's probably not for everyone, and the war-imagery and footage may be a bit harrowing for those who like slow-burn mystery films but don't quite care realistic war violence.

The chemistry between actor Mark Womack and actress Andrea Lowe is handled really well, and their relationship definitely comes across as troubled and emotionally fractured but also necessary for two people trying to heal and overcome a disturbing trauma. It's a difficult film to properly compare and categorize, but well worth watching for those who don't mind an honest depiction of a mystery wrapped around the themes of war and greed.

I almost don't want to be too honest about Ken Loach's latest. He is a national treasure after all. But then I remember what my job here is. 'Route Irish' is different from any other Loach film I've seen. Half the story is set in Iraq (Jordan), and uses techniques more typical of a Blockbuster.

Route Irish was, during the Iraq war, believed to be quite literally the most dangerous road in the world, where suicide bombings, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other nasties were commonplace. Disbelieving that his best friend and army buddy, Frankie (comedian John Bishop) was KIA, Liverpudlian Fergus (Mark Womack) vows to get to the truth. Frankie, says Fergus, 'was born lucky'. If you can forgive this soupçon of implausibility from which the story emanates, you can enjoy (parts of) the film.

Twenty-four hour news makes us immune to the carnage of war. We tuck into our cornflakes while yawning at Apocalypse Now-style footage. Here, Ken Loach personalises war. He's always used film as a political medium to mirror his Left-leaning views. But there's a distinctly pluralistic advocacy on display in this film. Iraqis are at once sympathised with and blamed. The role of a soldier is both defended and upbraided. And the use of private contractors in the 'war on terror' is equally shielded and condemned.

The only bits that are worthy of Loach are the scenes of tension, for instance when Fergus explains to Rachel (Frankie's partner) that of course Frankie played around: 'Every day out there (Iraq) could be the last – how can you go from that to shopping at Tesco?'.

For such a kindly codger, Loach has quite a tolerance for profanity. The 'f' word doesn't bother me, but it's overdoing it a bit when you put the likes of Tarantino to shame. As the peerless critic Roger Ebert said of another film, 'profanity is used as punctuation'.

Strangely, a full-on waterboarding torture scene has no more terror than an exploding party popper. Clearly not destined to bother the Russian roulette scene from 'The Deer Hunter'. It's in tune with the general tone of the film: big ambitions, too little follow-through.

Various technical points distracted me from an otherwise half-decent melodrama. Fergus casually lets slip that he's ex-SAS. That would imply he's a man of considerable resourcefulness. So why can't he himself extract video clips from Frankie's primitive mobile phone to establish how he died? And why does he need to conduct online conference calls to amateurs for information? What's stopping him from Andy McNabbing his own way into Iraq?

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Of course it evokes some social political problems, very real. And related to modern issues, topics: military private contractors, but the way to tell this story is surprising from a film maker as Ken Loach. It is not a Jason Bourne nor 007 movie, but is rather action oriented for me, and still surprising from a director as Loach. I also know that he has also made some more or less action films such as THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, but it spoke of the war in Ireland. Here it is nearly a movie where I would have imagined Jason Statham. Nearly. It then would have been an intellectual Jason Statham's vehicle, whilst it is here an action, badass Ken Loach.... But Ken Loach's fans won't be deceived. The torture sequence is just a joke, at least for the first part, in the final part, this is really gritty though. But at the beginning, I thought I could do it with my grandma, she would drink her tea in the same time. Putting the wet napkin on a face for only two seconds is just a joke. But for the end, we see just the torturer leaving the napkin and putting water on it without stopping.... This is realistic and gritty.

If you want a movie that will hold your attention and leave you feeling like you've watched a great movie, this is it. I am not a connoisseur of Ken Loach, or a movie snob, I just enjoy a movie that holds my attention.

Unlike the other reviewers, I thought the characters were well-drawn and convincing. The effects used on the film itself such as graininess, washed out lomo effect, and darkness in the right places, makes this a pleasure to watch.

The over-use of the f-bomb is a real factor. Men do talk exactly like that, but for a film less would have been more.

The politics of the mercenary world are shown brilliantly and without any sense of preachiness or one-sidedness.

Just an excellent movie.

The private companies with special tasks in Iraq are since long a problem. They aren't bound by the rules which regular armed forces have. They also exist in Britain and this new Ken Loach movie is about them.

A taxi with two children is destroyed. Later one of the contracted soldiers is killed and his friend tries to find out what happened. Who are the bad guys here? That warhead in the barrack or somebody or somebodies much higher in the hierarchy? This is not a typical Ken Loach drama, since it's on the surface more of a typical war thriller than an outcry about social injustice. But social injustice becomes the main theme. Loach is one of the few remaining outraged society commentators. We shall be glad we have him.