User Reviews

Someone is killing off former IRA operatives. They are doing so with a sense of irony and insider information. The Big Man (Colm Meaney) is called in to solve the crimes. He himself is a loyalist who lost his daughter. He sincerely wants to find the culprits while having mixed feelings over their deaths. His lines are filled with cliches and truisms, "No one is ever happy until they are grieving again."

The killings go on for too long without any clues. Indeed, the killers are awkwardly introduced as new characters, although characters I had suspected without knowing- go figure. This lead to a conclusion that appeared to be ill conceived, giving us a theme that was contrary to itself. It was interesting watching Meaney as a detective early on, piecing together the crime from obscure clues and his street knowledge. Indeed, I was expecting more of this type of investigator, but as he grew tired so did the script.

Might work as a crime-drama rental. A feel good Irish unity message attempts to come through, but falls short.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

"Three more bodies. It's an epidemic."

Apparently, the package the press received from Adnuco Production caused quite a stir. The presentation contained the DVD and was supplemented with material that could be handy for terrorists like a balaclava, a handful of nails and duct tape. I am convinced that seeing this content was more exciting than the content of this movie.

"A Belfast Story" is situated in Ireland (quite obviously) and has a real Irish atmosphere. The beautiful scenery with its wavy hills, the folk music that can be heard throughout the film in a non-interfering manner in the background, the local pubs, the known working class houses (although it could be in Liverpool district as well) and of course the succulent Irish accent that is spoken. Unmistakably a sign that genuine Irish actors and actresses were asked for this movie.

But Ireland is also inextricably linked to the IRA (Irish Republican Army), the paramilitary organization which fought for an independent Ireland with no ties to the United Kingdom and tried to achieve that by committing bloody bombings which also caused innocent civilian victims. In "A Belfast Story" former members of the IRA are systematically murdered. It seems, therefore, that there is now someone taking revenge on them. Or is it an attempt to stir up the unrest that ravaged Ireland.

Colm "Star Trek O'Brien" Meaney is the seasoned detective who investigates who the perpetrators are. He is a rather dusty and corny character. A detective who is about to retire and who knows the tricks of the trade when it's about the IRA. He's also someone who's emotionally scarred from this battle and that rises the question whether he wants to solve this matter or not? Chief Constable (Malcolm Sinclair) called him "Last of his kind".

I like to watch occasionally an old-fashioned "who-has-done-it" detective. The atmosphere is quite in the nature of a typical English detective serials such as "Frost". Ultimately it's just a boring movie. The first hour is a concatenation of the attacks on the former members of the IRA and an awful lot of people who are calling with their mobile phone. Meaney looks like an Irish Columbo who surly grumbles when he arrives at the crime scene and then he comes to the conclusion that there is a pattern : former members of the IRA are being killed and it looks like some kind of vendetta. I am not a seasoned detective, but I figured that out myself after 15 minutes. The murders happen in an inventive way and are related to the acts the victims have done in the past. Only the poisoning of one of them, after he went for "Fish and Chips" in a local eatery, I found rather implausible. How they did that still remains a mystery to me.

It's just waiting for the denouement and discover who's the culprit and what's his motive. Until then you witness the clumsy investigative work by the police who, as always, are running behind the facts and have no clear indications that could solve this case. Moreover I hope that the real Irish police is more capable than those performing in this film. I don't think bugging devices are clogged in such a moronic and instantaneous way. And why didn't they search the adjacent barn after their thorough search (although it also looked like a joke) through the house ? Ultimately the underlying message is a bit more complicated than it appears at first sight. The ex-members of the I.R.A. want to leave the past being (especially now that they have moved up to a prestigious position. Even as First Minister) and the law enforcement apparently have no problem with the liquidation of some retired IRA members. Whether all this is accurate and consistent with the current situation, is something unknown to me since my knowledge of the political situation is fairly limited. However, I fear that people will have wrong idea about Ireland after watching "A Belfast Story." It seems like everyone still has a few automatic rifles in the closet or between the cushions of the seat , so they can go to battle again at the right time. It wouldn't surprise me that inhabitants of Ireland and England, think this is a pretty shocking and uncompromising movie.

After a while I got the feeling that I was watching a third-rate television series, though it began strong and promising but eventually degenerated into a terribly annoying controversial product in which Meaney excelled in, despite his boring monologues he had while sitting alone in a room with the most hideous wallpaper patterns ever. The consternation about the package I've mentioned at the beginning, was indeed necessary to obtain some attention.

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As a irish person, and a film fan... Where to begin? Inconsistencies from start to finish And the whole story was really improbable, anybody who has lived through the troubles would know that this would not happen... Very little ' belfast ' in the Belfast story, the houses looked English and never saw the city once When the detective bit his glasses like columbo i wanted to vomit Happy ending? I hope so.. But it was a little one sided

Visual effects didn't have continuity, as car bomb happened, which didn't destruct side of house

Police car was not an irish police car

2/10 because it was low budget

Watch in the name of the father instead x

This film is definitely a candidate for the worst film ever made. Complete and utter drivel, terrible acting, even worse staging, all coupled with a questionable storyline. Just one example of how bad it is, there was one seen where a massive roadside bomb has exploded in a residential street killing the occupants of a car. In the next seen the camera pans down the street as Meaney looks into the burnt out car, no damage in the street what so ever, not even a broken window! I'm sure after seeing the finished product Colm Meaney, the only half decent actor in the film, wishes someone would beam him up! Being from Northern Ireland I'm ashamed at the thought of people in other counties watching this and associating this garbage with my country. Needless to say if you haven't seen it don't waste an hour and a half of your life watching it.

Im American, fathers from Offaly, mothers parents are from Limerick and Cork. I guess you could say that must make me biased... I know very little about the intricacies of the troubles. But after watching this film I can surmise that only IRA terrorists ever killed innocents... it poses an interesting question about compromise versus justice, but then why not keep that rumination legitimate by having one of the killers go after some loyalists who caused "collateral damage". Instead it comes off as a half-assed moralizing blow em up with an allegiance. Lots of instrumental traditional Irish music at strange times and heavy handed moralizing with gratuitous violence. Basically, its the Boondock Saints with real accents, and no Ron Jeremy to laugh at.

I don't know how anyone can rate this film as being even passable. The plot, which could have had merit dependent on your personal political opinion, was stretched and finally shredded. Too many insignificant, meaningless but pompous characters with banal drivel for lines and all the emotion of a gutted cod. I felt genuinely sorry for Colm Meaney who, I am sure, will sincerely hope this offering is consigned to the wastebin of time very quickly. here are a few points: 1. As far as i am aware Poles or Lithuanians did not engage in an armed struggle in Northern Ireland never mind get to the heights of First Minister. 2. The Primary School which designed the uniform and badge doesn't even deserve credit. 3. There is probably more than one sole plain clothed officer within the Northern Ireland Police Service. 4. Chief Constables would not tend to meet informants whilst dressed in full uniform, never mind attending murder scenes. 5. The police badge is modelled on the UPS logo. 6. If a gibbering idiot hid a 'burn' mobile phone in a flower pot in a general office they wouldn't be high on the list of recruits for any terrorist organisation. 7. One particularly ridiculous murder, can anyone tell me how it occurred? 8. Platitudes never go down well with audiences so the 50 or so contained in here embarrass and then annoy in equal measure. 9. If a police force/service have enough sense to search a house and plant listening devices they might actually have the sense to search the garages 30 feet away. 10. Why oh why didn't someone who actually had a brain take the idea to a professional film company with a competent cast, good cinematographer and above all a sensible script writer. I am actually ill with the thought that a wider audience, around the world, will watch this and think it bears any semblance to my country or the local 'talent' is indicative of what we actually have here. Please, please , please take the financial hit and withdraw this dross immediately. I know that some films are so bad they develop a cult status but this goes way beyond that. The worst film I have seen in my lifetime, and i went to the cinema to see Hit-man!!!

What was Colm Meaney thinking accepting this job? Awful script, worse acting and terrible everything else.

Slow build to a ridiculous pay off. 2 average lads just decided one day to take on the government and IRA in Belfast. And they easily won! No depth or build in this story at all. The actors seemed to be straight out of a local stage school.

2 Stars for 1, the effort and 2, colm Meaney.

Don't waste 1 Hr 40 min on this borefest made by a bunch of novices.

The central premise of the story isn't bad, but the film is so full of factual errors it's just laughable.

Since 'Ma & Da' from local comedy troupe The Hole In The Wall Gang appear, maybe that was deliberate.

HERE BE SPOILERS

Reserve RUC/PSNI officers would never be assigned to assist a senior investigator, that would be a job for a detective sergeant.

Then I noticed all the police uniforms seemed to have Rs on them, so I guess someone got a load of old reserve uniforms cheap. There also seemed to be a shortage of background performers so all the extras must have been working on Game of Thrones that day.

I could go on, but I won't. Avoid.

This movie as it was told had such deep meaning and heartfelt heartbreak for all those that suffered through the horribles times that Ireland has been through over the century. I'm half Mexican and half Irish and my family from Ireland back two generations lived in Dublin and Belfast many times my great-grandma would ell stories about what went on there and how it all seemed so meaningless in the end but at the time people were fighting for what they believed in. It was kinda weird though that the killers turned out to be who they were and not who we thought they were gonna be. but thats why the Colm Meany said about it being to Glamorous. I loved the movie and would recommend it to anyone that knows anything about history Loved it and the storytelling was superb!!!!!