Ordinary Decent Criminal

Based on the real-life figure of Dublin gangster Martin Cahill (his story was also told in THE GENERAL, released in 1998), this fast-moving crime flick has little new to offer, but is worth a look for fans of the genre. Writer Gerard Stembridge takes the main facts of Cahill's life and gives them a slight spin (most especially the latter stages) to create an interesting mix of fantasy and reality. It's not as good as THE GENERAL; Spacey and Fiorentino struggle with their accents; and the finale is a bit much for us to swallow. But, for all its flaws, it's a lively and amusing piece, if destined forever to fall in the shadow of its more illustrious fore-runner.