Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

FilmBuff1994 Veronica Guerin is a great movie with a very well developed plot and a really talented cast. It is a very engrossing film as it pulls us right in to the events of Veronica Guerin, a true story about a journalist from Ireland who made connections with drug cartels in order to publish stories about them. Her life is chronicled beautifully and in a suspenseful manner that has us caring for her and feeling a sense of constant unease as a result of the situation she is in. It does have many by the numbers elements to it, the story is certainly told in a very linear, predictable biography film fashion. Joel Schumacher, as brilliant as he is, does not necessarily take risks, and he tried his best to make this incredibly different story as suitable for Hollywood as possible, instead of telling it in a gritty fashion that would have made it far more enthralling. The cast is top notch, but the crown does, of course, go to Cate Blanchett as Guerin herself. She continues to amaze me with her versatility as an actress, this English woman fit in to a rural Ireland atmosphere effortlessly, bringing her to life in every moment with her breathtaking acting methods. Deeply inmerseful. Well acted and intense, I would recommend Veronica Guerin to anyone looking for a good drama. An Irish journalist becomes involved with drug cartel members in order to publish stories about their business.Best Performance: Cate Blanchett

SnoopyStyle In 1996 Dublin, hard charging reporter Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) is attacked on the road. Two years earlier, she started writing about the rampaging spread of drugs in Ireland. Her main source of information is underworld character John Traynor (Ciarán Hinds). His boss John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley) isn't too happy that he keeps talking to the pretty journalist. She tries to balance her family life with her kids and the dangerous world of drugs in her work.The story is a little scattered and director Joel Schumacher is barely able to corral a coherent story. Luckily, this is more of a character study and Blanchett makes her a fascinating character. She has no off switch and supremely confident. Along with Hinds and McSorley, they save the movie from Schumacher's TV level work.

Framescourer It's a funny sort of film that's designed to document the life of a significant individual - yet gives you the impression that she was more important than it has portrayed her. This is how I left this artful yet somewhat lightweight movie describing the later life and work of Veronica Guerin, a reporter investigating the drug trade on the periphery of the troubles shortly before the Good Friday agreement was reached.A voice-over at the coda of the film has to makeweight where the film itself has left out ballast. The performances are solid - more so in the case of Cate Blanchett herself whose Irish accent is impeccable, and whose buzzing, boyish energy seems utterly fluent and credible. Yet the baddies seem simply neurotic and the good guys drawn into Guerin's vortex of investigative graft maintain their distance. There's no tipping point, save two moments of drama - these are simply stock in trade.It's a useful document and a competent film but it just doesn't have the gravitational pull that the woman clearly did. 5/10

Paul Moore I just saw the film for the first time last night. The main impression I took from it was how incompetent the local gardai (Irish police) were. It seemed that they had no clue how to progress with the investigation, given the evidence of Capone-like behaviour in Dublin's gangland.Maybe Gerry Bruckenheimer (the film's producer) could show them how. After all, he has enough experience from the CSI detective series he produces.Apart from that, Blanchett's and Hind's performances were great. Paul