Cortechba Overrated

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

NateWatchesCoolMovies I'm not too sure just how much of Kill The Irishman is based in actual truth, but if even half of what we see on screen did happen, that is some pretty impressive stuff. The film focuses on the life of Danny Greene (a bulked, sturdy Ray Stevenson), who was an Irish American mobster working out of Cleveland back in the 70's, a guy who seems to have caused quite a stir of chaos amongst organized crime back then. Getting a leg up from the longshoreman's union, Danny quickly rose to power alongside several other key figures including numbers man John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio), enforcer Joe Manditski (Val Kilmer) and nasty kingpin Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken). It seems it all went south pretty quick though, because before he knew it he was at odds with Birns, and dodging multiple brash assassination attempts coming at him from all directions. What's remarkable about Danny's story is his sterling resilience: something like over a dozen attempts were made on his life and the darn mick just kept on going, even taunting the underworld between car bomb blasts and raucous shoot outs. Of course, such a life alienates him from his wife (Linda Cardellini) and puts him in perpetual crosshairs, but Stevenson plays it casually cavalier, a gentleman gangster who really cares not for the danger he's wading into, and treads lightly amongst the mess, making me wonder if the real Greene had such an attitude and the sheer luck to back it up. Walken is quiet and dangerous in a somewhat underplayed role, but he is entertaining doing anything, so it's all good. The cast is enormous, and includes the like of Vinnie Jones as a bruiser of an Irish street soldier, Robert Davi in an explosive third act cameo as a lethal specialist brought in to neutralize Danny, and your usual kennel of Italian American character actors like Mike Starr, Bob Gunton, Tony Lo Bianco, Steve Schirippa, Paul Sorvino and others. It's loud, fast paced and ever so slightly tongue in cheek. As a crime drama it works great, could have been slightly longer, but Stevenson keeps things moving briskly with his affable, hyperactive performance and it goes with out saying that the rest of them provide excellent supporting work.

Prismark10 Kill the Irishman tells the story of mobster Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) and his rise to power in 1970s Cleveland. Green rose to be a local Union boss became a police informer when the heat got too much and then got into conflict with the mafia.The film is told from the viewpoint of cop, Val Kilmer who is too fat to be a cop is in conflict with Greene and actually wasted in the role.This is really low rent version of Goodfellas with less charismatic characters, B list cast, dodgy wigs and bad cgi. The plot goes at a breakneck speed, Greene has no education, works as a docker and a few punches later deposed the crooked union boss, got married to the local bar girl who subsequently leaves him and takes their children and you never hear from her again.Greene teams up with a local mafia hoodlum and together they take on the mafia chiefs which resulted in numerous car bombings in Cleveland which terrorised the citizens.The film is interesting enough because it is pacey, Stevenson tries to infuse his character with charisma and make him out to be a anti hero but is ultimately defeated by the script.

hall895 Danny Greene's life story seems tailor-made for Hollywood. But ultimately the movie proves less compelling than the man. Kill the Irishman brings Greene's story to the screen but does so in rather mundane fashion. Chock-full of mob movie clichés there's not enough here to make this movie stand out from the pack. The movie is overflowing with violence, shootings and bombings galore, yet still seems to lack in energy. An explosive start promises great things but things soon fizzle out. Danny Greene leads a very interesting life but the movie really doesn't capture that. The story as presented here is actually somewhat dull and clearly disappointing.Danny Greene may be the hero of the film but make no mistake he's not a good guy. He's mixed up in all sorts of nefarious activity as he rises from lowly Cleveland dock worker to union president to full-fledged mobster. Cleveland's Italian mafia kingpins have no patience for this Irishman who thumbs his nose at them at every opportunity. So eventually they decide they want Danny Greene dead. Easier said than done as he escapes one attempt on his life after another. Cleveland becomes the car-bombing capital of the world as mob war rages. Seems like there should be a lot of excitement here, this should be a movie absolutely crackling with energy. But it's actually a bit of a dud.Ray Stevenson does a decent enough job playing Danny Greene but is not quite charismatic enough. For this movie to work Danny has to be absolutely irresistible, you have to be mesmerized by him. And you're really not. It's Danny's movie, none of the other characters rise above sideshow status. All the clichéd roles are there. There's a wife, a girlfriend, a cop and a bunch of mostly anonymous tough guys. There's also Christopher Walken playing a typical Christopher Walken role. At least his character stands out a bit. The rest of the supposed big-time mobsters disappoint. The Italian bosses actually come across as somewhat pathetic, acting like big-shots as they run their little Cleveland family but needing to call in some real mafia guys from New York to try to clean up their Danny Greene mess. And make no mistake, Danny Greene revels in making a mess. There's seemingly a lot of very good material here but the movie falls flat. It's an interesting story. And there's a nice 1970s period feel to it, the movie looks good. But the movie never really grabs you. This should be edge-of-the-seat stuff. And it is not. The story of Danny Greene is one worth telling. You just wish it was told in better fashion than this.

Frederick Smith Great cast, great acting, and an absolute must-see for mafia-philes. Ray Stevenson and Linda Cardellini give exceptional performances as Danny and Joan Greene in this hard hitting story based on his life. Unlike many bio-dramas, this one moves along at a rocket pace, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats. D'Onofrio is exceptional in this role, as is Christopher Walken, and you have to wonder how Stevenson keeps up with such powerful performers, but he does. Lots of favorite character actors dress up this larger than life scenario, including the lovely and always enticing Fionnula Flanagan as the neighbor, Mike Starr as one of Tony Lo Biano's enforcers, and Bob Gunton as the Union President who can't stand on his own. Paul Sorvino gives us the perfect NYC mob boss image and, while his role is brief, it's a performance worth watching. Val Kilmer's role as the police officer who grew up with Greene is subdued, but he carries it off with the right tone and balance to the film. Since a great film always comes down to the director, we have to give Jonathon Hensleigh a resounding round of applause for this fascinating and entertaining portrait of the under-workings of the mob. Rated R for violence, language and sexual situations, if you like films like the Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino, etc, you are going to love this one. And if you are a fan of those, this needs to be added to your collection.