★ 5 / 10
On the face of it, two A-list men
CinemaSerf
On the face of it, two A-list men at the top of the bill should have made this compelling, but sadly what we get is a rather lacklustre thriller that is…
On the face of it, two A-list men at the top of the bill should have made this compelling, but sadly what we get is a rather lacklustre thriller that is positively lacking in thrills! The story centres around police officer "O'Meara" (Harrison Ford) who takes in an Irish lodger "Devaney" (Brad Pitt and his hilarious Irish accent). From the outset, we are aware that the lodger is really an IRA terrorist who is hiding out under an assumed name, and gradually his host begins to suspect that all is not what is seems. What now ensues is a really rather poorly constructed story that leaves breadcrumbs for us all to follow to an ending that though taut at times along the way, is really nothing very interesting. As a Brit, I've always found these intrigue films that portray terrorists as glorified freedom fighters a bit tough to stomach and the narrative here plays to just about every dumb stereotype imaginable. There is precious little by way of action and the pace sort of lumbers along with little to engage the little grey cells. The plot is overly simplistic and from a political perspective, totally one-sided and that renders the whole thing little better than an hollow outing for both. Though Pitt is at his most eye-catching, this is nothing at all to write home about and offers us little of meaning to help comprehend the complexities of the true problems on the island of Ireland.
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★ 7 / 10
A decent thriller about an IRA gunman who drags an innocent American family into the thorny world of terrorism
ma-cortes
Frankie McGuire (Brad Pitt) is one of the IRA's deadliest assassins. But when he is sent to the United States to buy weapons, specifically Stinger missiles…
Frankie McGuire (Brad Pitt) is one of the IRA's deadliest assassins. But when he is sent to the United States to buy weapons, specifically Stinger missiles, Frankie stays with the family of Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford), a New York police officer who is happily married to Sheila (Margaret Colin) with children , but all of them know nothing about Frankie's true identity. A surprising friendship emerges, but Tom's growing suspicions force Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a life of murder. A man trapped by destiny and another bound by duty! They are about to discover why they are willing to fight and die. They come from different worlds. They fight for different causes. Now, two men from opposite sides of the law are about to go to war !.An interesting thriller on the typical theme of hidden identity, as a police officer discovers the true identity of his guest in the house, a member of the I. R. A. Hidden terrorist. This is more of a detailed character study, trying to explore the reasons why the protagonists act the way they do, rather than the typical action movie. This is a good suspense drama devised by screenwriter Kevin Jarre (Glory) and well directed by Alan J. Pakula in which an interpretive duel is established between two of the biggest screen stars belonging to two different generations: Harrison Ford (Patriotic Games, Star Wars, Sabrina) and Brad Pitt (Seven, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Legends of the fall), the latter doing his usual job as an honest patrol cop who gets caught up in bad situations. Harrison Ford was paid $20 million to star in the film and Brad Pitt earned $12 million; the difference in salaries came because the status of first big star was higher for Ford who had recently played the successful Indiana Jones sequels, while Brad Pitt did not yet have the status that he would subsequently achieve. They are well accompanied by a good supporting cast with some familiar faces, such as: Margaret Colin, Rubén Blades, Treat Williams, George Hearn, Mitchell Ryan, David O'Hara and Natascha McElhone.This features an evocative musical score by prestigious composer James Horner who strives to give the film a tone full of Irish sounds. Adding colorful and appropriate photography by the classic cameraman Gordon Willis who photographed The Godfather and other very important films. This gripping story was professionally directed by Alan J. Pakula, although it has some cracks and is a bit slow. Alan J. Pakula was chosen to direct because he was the only person both Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt agreed should do it, but it turned out to be the last film Pakula finished before his death caused by a car accident. This compelling American film director, writer and producer was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture for "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), Best Director for "All the President's Men" (1976) and Best Adapted Screenplay for ¨Sophie's Choice¨ (1982). His producing business partner in the 1950s and 1960s was Robert Mulligan. Pakula was always very supportive of his cast and had a reputation as an "actor's director." He achieved several hits such as ¨The Devil's Shadow¨, ¨Pelican Report¨, ¨Presumed Innocent¨, ¨Sophie's Choice¨, ¨Klute¨ and some failures such as ¨Starting Over¨, ¨See You in the Morning¨ and ¨ The last witness¨ or ¨The Parallax View¨. Rating: 7/10. It is worth seeing and being better than average thanks to the magnificent performances of Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt.
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★ 7 / 10
Still decent
Beer1994
I created an account just for this review, due to the low ratings others have given. I mean, it is not the best movie I've seen, but it is not that bad it…
I created an account just for this review, due to the low ratings others have given. I mean, it is not the best movie I've seen, but it is not that bad it should be given 1's, 2's, or 3's, etc. It is not an action movie nor a thriller, but there is still some of both in this movie. Yes, 'aye' is a bit overused, but you will get used to it very quickly. I think Brad and Harrison did a fine job here.In the end I found it enjoyable to watch on a relaxing evening with a glass of whisky. Just 'a movie' to watch without a lot of triggers and explosions or overthinking scenes. I think people should give it a chance and ignore other reviews.
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34%
TOMATOMETER
· 41 reviews
41%
AUDIENCE
· 25K ratings
6.2/10
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one of the classic!