Kill The Irishman [DVD]

just finished this straight to video movie that I thought was going to suck until I read the reviews ( proves sometimes they are worth while). its an absolute gem, think goodfellas meets riverdance ( not really). one irishman and his friends take on the mob ( trust em to use explosives). its revenge movie, meets mob movie, a little humour and some great acting by all, kilmer looks more ice box than ice man but does his job well along with ray stevenson,walken, d`nofrio, sorvino, amongst others. this is the type of film you sit down expecting not much but come out with a great experience and its one you know you will watch again.
awesome film. great pace, lots of things going bang but the violence is realistic and not cartooned, a great story where you actually care about the people involved.

5 stars all the way, one of the best low budgets I have seen since boondock saints, one of the better films I have seen this year.

Kill the Irishman (KTI) is based on the book To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia by Rick Porrello which is based on the true events of Irish mobster Danny Greene (played by Ray Stevenson).

The story starts in Cleveland Ohio in the 1960's. Orphaned as a child, Danny has known nothing but hard-knocks and working his fingers to the bone for cents. When he ousts the corrupt Union Leader for his union, the men elect him as their working-class champion - unfortunately enough for Danny who has dubious morals himself, the position involves negotiating with the Cleveland Mafia. When Danny is investigated for extortion and handling stolen property he is removed from his Union office and has no choice but to work with the Mafioso loan-shark Alex "Shondor" Birns (Christopher Walken) to make ends meet and support his wife (Linda Cardellini). But when the Mob bosses see just how influential the rising star Danny is (uniting the garbage disposal firms under one union where they had previously failed to do so) a contract is put on his head, Danny turns out to be one tough nut to crack, surviving multiple attempts on his life, but when will his luck run out?

Ray Stevenson plays a fantastic Danny Greene - despite having the physique of a filing-cabinet - an Irishman with an indefatigable spirit. The locals adore him as he is seen as a working-class hero and a modern-day Robin Hood; extorting the Mafia then using the proceeds to make sure everyone in his neighbourhood has a turkey for Christmas for example. Even his victims get mercy, after 'dealing-with' a guy who refuses to negotiate, Danny makes sure the 10 recently-orphaned kids all get trust funds for college, paid for out of his own pocket. It's the truth behind this film that will really inspire you to root for Danny, despite his moral ambiguity and this is what makes KTI a great film.

Whilst it may not be the most complex mob-movie out there, this is a truly great tale that is based in nearly 20 years of reality - there were actually 37 bombings in Cleveland in 1977 alone!! When this is paired with a great cast (Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken, Paul Sorvino, Vinny Jones amongst others!) and set in a truly believable 1970's setting (the cars, the clothes & the music) it makes for one truly great movie. Recommended!!

This is a very good film that could easily get overlooked. Val Kilmer is back on form here even though his role isn't a major one and everyone else does a great job too. The cast of this film is excellent, everybody looks the part and there's no pandering to the glamour crowd at all. Comparing this to movies like the 'French Connection' and the 'Dirty Harry' series that were actually made in the seventies this film appears to have captured the look and feel of the era perfectly. Not just the clothes, the music and the cars but the settings look authentic too. Some of the story has been 'softened' I'm sure to make Danny Green look better; eg his wife leaving him when in the extras his real wife said it was the other way round, but whatever the facts the story portrays a little slice of mob history that you probably don't know about and its well worth the watching. On my blu ray I only had the true story of Danny Green as an extra but that is 64 minutes long in itself. Picture quality was spot on, the colours had that authentic slightly washed out look and the DTS-HD master soundtrack was crisp and dynamic.