Broken Law (2020) User Reviews

its running in the family

[ops-52535 · 6/10 · 2 November 2020]

Two brothers, one cop,one crook, just released from prison dives into crime, and by circumstantial incident runs into his brother in the aftermath of the crime...

well its an irish flick, that lets you taste asphalt and iti a small cast crimedrama of superfiscial caracter, its within the frames of the generic genre of crime, and its a story about poverty and broken homes in a country that never have seen real wealth anytime.and its a typical example that blood is thicker than you think and family comes first its a basic production where everything is plain and no more than that. plotstory has some surprises, and a real twist at the bitter end.so how to bribe a copper? well have a look yourself

the score of the film are pure irish, therefore pretty recommendable and well chosen songs, i still have trouble dehiffering some of the thick irish dialect, but its a small recommend from the grumpy old man

Good Stuff All In All

[arseniy · 7/10 · 20 December 2020]

Character psych doesn't always appear to track smoothly, feels more like a story than a study and the summation is a touch too moot for me, but the good points counterbalance all this well. Especially for a crowd-funded indie. The point's clear enough, some really good musical choices, solid casting, etc.

Wasted opportunity

[am-by · 5/10 · 26 January 2021]

As an Irish person im well used to seeing Irish movies being overhyped by Irish film industry and press. And this movie isn't an exception. The script and actions / behaviours of the characters in this movie are beyond implausible. Its like it was written be a 12 year old child. Some dramatic scenes really created a high degree of tension indicating what this movie could have been instead of what it is. Bits and pieces hold your attention but lose it with a ridiculous plot.

Bad audio

[scottibailey-997-291611 · 3 November 2020]

Lots of thick Irish accents compounded by bad audio and actors mumbling makes this feature frustrating to watch. I just gave up.

Route Irish

[anil-kulkarni-108-85663 · 6/10 · 3 April 2023]

Route Irish

Great Britain has a healthy legacy of what they call Geezer Films - typically main characters are from the wrong side of the tracks. They usually get caught up in some nafarious activity, mostly cast as victims of circumstance rather than shapers of it.

This is from the other side of the river - Ireland. This is as classic a tale as you can get - a geezer flick with 2 brothers on opposite sides of the law, heck could be a Bollywood film.

The direction is tight and the characters flawed so it is watchable - just about.

Theres not much by way of location photography, majority of it indoors and all that.

Still worth your time and a look into how the other half lives beyond the pretty architecture and clean streets.

Some good performances

[valleyjohn · 6/10 · 13 June 2021]

There have been several Irish movies in recent years that revolve around criminal activity and the lower working class and for the most part I have enjoyed them .

This is one of the average ones but it is made watchable by some stand out performances especially from John Connors , who I've seen before and continue to be impressed by.

It's the story of Dave Connolly who is a respected member of the Garda Síochána but his loyalty to the law gets tested by his ex-convict brother Joe who is in desperate need of his help.

The Irish accents take some getting used to and I can imagine that might put a few people off as the sound isn't great either .

It does have an amateurish feel about it at times and that might be seen as a good or a bad thing . It didn't particularly bother me.

The storyline isn't the most exciting either . I'm fact I was bored by it at times but the whole film is carried by the performances and that makes it worth watching .

Lost credibility with 46m remaining

[padraigobeirn · 2/10 · 15 January 2021]

Had potential up to 46m remaining. Disbelief was completely suspended then.

Painful.

[admhr-04373 · 3/10 · 5 August 2020]

I rarely write negative reviews but this film was painful, they tried to cram everything into 90 minutes and managed to achieve little. The soundtrack was the best part of the movie but actually got in the way as they appeared to want to cram in as much music as possible. The plot was interesting but never developed, neither were the characters. If the movie had been an hour longer and better developed it could have been great.

Broken by boredom

[gurumaggie · 3/10 · 2 May 2021]

A very boring film, it had a few o.k. Bits but the subtitles don't match the actual dialogue, it's violent and dull.

Interestingly I couldn't give it two stars IMDB wouldn't save it but when I went to 3 stars it did, it doesn't deserve three stars.

Great movie

[partyyhead · 9/10 · 15 January 2021]

A very well made movie, not the usual run of the mill story, very relatable and brilliant acting on a 150,000 budget.

Very disappointing

[snolan-61870 · 3/10 · 5 November 2020]

I tried really hard to like this movie and while there are one or two decent performances this movie is awful. The plot is weak and at times completely ridiculous. Very disappointing.

John Connor is the playing his Usual Character

[ricochet93-369-308802 · 1/10 · 15 January 2021]

Tired, poorly acted, unoriginal...keep going, nothing worth seeing here.

Do yourself a favour go watch an hour of Sesame Street, it will be time better spent.

Hard to get through

[fifi1701 · 1/10 · 7 February 2021]

Exaggerated acting and laughable story - couldn't get through the whole film

Awful

[weldoninhio9 · 2/10 · 14 January 2021]

Absolute garbage from start to finish. Poor acting, poor story, poor everything. Absolute waste of an hour and a half.

A surprisingly awesome movie

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 9/10 · 6 November 2020]

I was actually going to pass on this one due to the low rating, but chose to search online for the trailer first (not sure why there isn't one on here) and it looked pretty good. I also clicked on the Rotten Tomatoes link and then decided to give this one a go after seeing real critics have this at 100% fresh. I'm sure glad I did.

So this little B-grade gem is a crowd-funded indie film by newb (only a few short prior films) Irish filmmaker Paddy Slatter, who makes his first full length feature film debut as writer, director and producer. I have to say, the selection of good films during these turbulent times is slim to none, and Slatter sure stepped up with Broken Law. This film was so well put together, I had difficulty finding much negative to critique. For that matter, it was better than some films I've seen lately with Hollywood budgets, A-list actors put together by seasoned filmmakers.

Right from the start, I noticed the great soundtrack and score. The pacing was decent for its 85 min runtime and the suspense flowed constantly and smoothly start to finish. Cinematography and camera shots were on point. The directing seemed it was from a seasoned director. The casting of mainly novice actors I've never heard of was great, and every single actor was convincing in their role. Now the writing... yes, these type of stories have been done before, but this one has some nice "wow" and "umm" moments. I even laughed out loud a bunch of times at the light but just right humor. The story felt very real and the constant twists and suspense had my anxiety levels high the entire film. Being written by a newb filmmaker makes it that much more impressive.

Paddy Slatter deserves high praise and mad respect for wearing many hats and being able to pull off such a little gem. He certainly is an up-and-coming filmmaker to watch out for. It's a well deserved 9/10 from me. To see how I rate films or see more of my 1000+ reviews, click on my account name.

John Connors

[markleedsutd70 · 3/10 · 14 January 2021]

1 good thing about this movie John Connors, an old plot poorly made.

Didn't understand a word for the first 25 minutes then I turned it off

[majortom-23593 · 1/10 · 12 November 2020]

Due to quarantine, I've been watching a lot of Brit movies and TV on Acorn and Britbox and loving them. All the same, I couldn't understand squat with this one. I'll try again when it hits Acorn or Britbox.

BAD!!

[noely71 · 1/10 · 9 June 2021]

I was looking forward to this during lockdown, but it's probably one of the worst films I've ever seen. Predictable and boring.

Every so often, we get a hidden gem

[gazomg · 1/10 · 22 June 2022]

Out of the countless Irish films being slung out, every so often we get a hidden gem. This was NOT one of them.

This is abysmal, the acting atrocious, and music from that pretentious Damien Dempsey, was almost fitting.

The only character that was believable was connors playing a scumbag.

I gave it one star, as they dont allow minus sores.

Weaving a tangled web in the family

[pie-78351 · 9/10 · 13 January 2021]

A very good police/criminal/family, tripartite tangled web of lies and deceit and greed. First rate acting, first rate plot. A bit extreme as a story but then its the intention of a good drama to entertain and entertain this does. Well worth watching. Just sit back and enjoy.

Great Movie

[radfords-40230 · 10/10 · 1 December 2020]

Very well written storyline with a bit of everything. Highly recommend

Brothers with arms

[nickphelan-25748 · 8/10 · 31 July 2020]

It's great to be back at the cinema again, and what a great movie to mark my return. A brilliant cast particularly Graham Early and a cracking old fashioned plot kept me engaged til the very end. Two brothers on the opposite side of the law become involved in a robbery that goes wrong from different sides. Loyalty to family vs job vs friends is the decision that needs to be made. One fantastic scene in particular of the brothers bonding and reminiscing over a spliff. John Connors is usual charismatic self but I'd like to see him in a different type of role for a change. Good solud film making which is really well acted. Recommended.

Great modern Irish movie

[joeryan-83624 · 10/10 · 9 November 2020]

If you're a fan of Love/Hate you'll like this. Great atmosphere, good modern dialog and I enjoyed the humour. Look forward to more from this production, keep it coming...

Solid Film

[micjcarroll · 9/10 · 2 August 2020]

Brilliant film to get people back into the cinema. Straight forward story telling and fantastic acting from the cast. Soundtrack was great!

Well paced, thoughtful film.

[kilnageer · 8/10 · 31 July 2020]

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Especially as I was an extra in it and it was my first time back in the cinema in 6 months!

The acting and close up camera shots were superb. And the plot was gripping while still being believable.

It felt a bit like a pilot for a TV series as you felt the characters had plenty more in them. Fingers crossed it may happen.