Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Kari Skogland

Writers:

Nicholas Davies (book)
Martin McGartland (book)

Release Date:

21 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

When you cross the line there's no going back.

Plot:

Based on Martin McGartland's shocking real life story. Martin is a young lad from west Belfast in the...

Plot Keywords:

IRA | Riot Police | Funeral | Shot To Death | Ireland

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Ben Kingsley	...	Fergus
Jim Sturgess	...	Martin
Kevin Zegers	...	Sean
Natalie Press	...	Lara
Rose McGowan	...	Grace
Tom Collins	...	Mickey
William Houston	...	Ray
Michael McElhatton	...	Robbie
Gerard Jordan	...	Kieran
David Pearse	...	Donovan
Joe Doyle	...	Quinn
Conor MacNeill	...	Frankie
Ewan Harts	...	Little Patrick (as Ewan & Oscar Harts)
Oscar Harts	...	Little Patrick (as Ewan & Oscar Harts)
Ciaran Nolan	...	Connie

Also Known As:

Man on the Run (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence and torture, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #45565) | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

Brightlight Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: (At 1:41:44) You can clearly see an poster add for iPhone when they are driving. iPhones were not around at the time the movie is set.

Quotes:

Grace: [Martin slaps Grace on the butt] Don't you eva do that again!

Soundtrack:

Hit the Ground Running

Simply Put, A Masterpiece

Fifty Dead Men Walking is a big and wonderful movie about a bunch of Irish people who are being terrorized by the Brits. They decide to fight fire with fire for their freedom. On the one hand you have the IRA blowing people up with bombs and torturing people ala Reservoir Dogs, but on the other hand you have the invading British force in riot gear randomly abusing any Irish Catholic who jay walks or looks cross-eyed, ala Abu Ghraib. This isn't Braveheart; it's more like Spy Game or dare I say the actual invasion of Iraq. There is no innocent side in this gritty story, any well-defined good or evil, just the truth about a war. However, this film goes beyond The Crying Game or In The Name Of The Father to present something that is more in the tradition of great gangster films such as The Departed (aka, Infernal Affair) or Blow or Donnie Brasco or even Good Fellas, or great cable dramas such as Brotherhood; it is as cinematic as Scarface or The Good Shepard, with elements from the older classics such as Seven Ups or French Connection spicing it up. This epic masterpiece is full of subtleties, such as when the guy looks under the van for explosives before entering or how the conversation about pregnancy is done completely under the covers. Ben Kingsley is in rare form. We just have to wonder why works of art such as this don't show up in our neighborhood theaters in place of the trash we are spoon-fed. What an absolutely wonderful movie. The direction reminds us of the best works of Clint Eastwood crossed with the frantic energy of The Bourne Identity. I realize the title of this movie was taken from the book, but it sounds like a zombie parody of Dead Man Walking, which is why I nearly skipped this flick. I'm glad I gave it a chance. May I recommend the titles Undercover or Covert or -- The Dirty Work -- or some other catchy name like that instead? I mean, they put too much work into this classic to lose their American audience simply because of its crappy title. Also, some subtitles to help with the thick accents would work to everyone's advantage. Words just can't describe how great this movie is: see it.