* Spoilers *
An undercover cop has to infiltrate an Irish gang operating out of New York, but finds he is getting in well over his head.
Those looking for something new in the world of cinema will be disappointed coming to this movie, because we have all been here before. But, while acknowledging the fact, this isn't at all bad. Indeed it has lots of good "street" actors giving it their best shot and a script with something to do and somewhere to go.
Gary Oldman is a very underrated actor. Having come from small parts in UK soap opera to starring in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula in the space of a few short years. His performance as Sid Vicious in Sid & Nancy is almost frightening in its accuracy and depth. Here he plays a greasy haired loose cannon about to off the deep end.
Going through any of the plot would be a sin because there is not a great deal to get your teeth in to here. The atmosphere of street life is well captured and in Oldman, Sean Penn and Ed Harris (as the big boss) you have top quality actors that can do this kind of stuff in their sleep.
The end is a spaghetti-western style let down. It looks tacked-on to give a "rousing climax" - when it didn't really need one to succeed.
I like life-on-street movies and I like gangster films, that is why I give this a "seven." If you take away one of the "likes" then I would class it more like a "six." A time-passing thriller that deserved to get more attention than it did and far better than many more lauded gangster-go-rounds.
An undercover cop has to infiltrate an Irish gang operating out of New York, but finds he is getting in well over his head.
Those looking for something new in the world of cinema will be disappointed coming to this movie, because we have all been here before. But, while acknowledging the fact, this isn't at all bad. Indeed it has lots of good "street" actors giving it their best shot and a script with something to do and somewhere to go.
Gary Oldman is a very underrated actor. Having come from small parts in UK soap opera to starring in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula in the space of a few short years. His performance as Sid Vicious in Sid & Nancy is almost frightening in its accuracy and depth. Here he plays a greasy haired loose cannon about to off the deep end.
Going through any of the plot would be a sin because there is not a great deal to get your teeth in to here. The atmosphere of street life is well captured and in Oldman, Sean Penn and Ed Harris (as the big boss) you have top quality actors that can do this kind of stuff in their sleep.
The end is a spaghetti-western style let down. It looks tacked-on to give a "rousing climax" - when it didn't really need one to succeed.
I like life-on-street movies and I like gangster films, that is why I give this a "seven." If you take away one of the "likes" then I would class it more like a "six." A time-passing thriller that deserved to get more attention than it did and far better than many more lauded gangster-go-rounds.