Fifty Dead Men Walking

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Fifty Dead Men Walking

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Fifty Dead Men Walking

Ben Kingsley, Gavin O'Connor, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers, Kris Edlund

Inspired by the true story of Martin McGartland who was recruited by the British Special Branch to work inside the IRA. He moved up the ranks and saved well over 50 lives, yet ended up being hunted by...( read more  read more... ) both sides. He had to leave his young girlfriend and child behind for their own protection and is still on the run today.

Id: 11029494

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Fifty Dead Men Walking Recent Reviews
  • her69eyes
    October 28, 2009
    her69eyes
    In the late 1980s, a young hooligan by the name of Martin McGartland served as a "tout", or an informer, for the British special forces occupying Northern Ireland. The men of the title, "Fifty Dead Men Walking", are those whose lives were saved due to Martin's tips on impending t...( read more)errorist attacks at the hands of the IRA. McGartland himself, who is still in hiding, has dismissed the movie by saying that it misrepresented him. Accurate or not, however, "Fifty Dead Men Walking" is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year - it's a well acted thriller as gripping as anything released this year not named "The Hurt Locker".

    The film takes place during The Troubles in 1980s Northern Ireland. The Irish Republican Army is at war with the British troops occupying their city. The British want to retain Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom, and the IRA, on other hand, quite simply sees them as intruders. They fight by any means necessary, frequently using violent terrorist attacks against their British opposition.

    Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess) is a hustler who sells whatever he can get his hands on. It's this recklessness that makes him appeal to a man known as Fergus (Ben Kingsley), one of the officers of the Special Branch of the British police. After Martin is arrested by the British army, Fergus recruits him to infiltrate the IRA.

    It's not long before McGartland gains the trust of the organization. As their assassination attempts keep going wrong, however, Martin's pal and friendly rival, Sean (Kevin Zegers), starts suspecting foul play. Meanwhile, Martin has just moved in with his new girlfriend, Lara (Nathalie Press), with whom he has a son.

    Although comparisons could be made to any number of espionage pictures, like "The Departed", for instance, the film very much reminded me of one of 2007's best, "Boy A". It's another film from the UK, both with promising fresh faces in leading roles, in which young men become in over their heads with a world completely against them. Both protagonists have loving girlfriends, both have a father figure, and both end up in a hell of a lot of trouble by the last half hour.

    Sturgess, who also appeared in "Across the Universe", is remarkable. It's a breakthrough performance that gives us a protagonist both reckless and fragile, heroic and cowardly. Kingsley is, as always, remarkably elegant - however, I can't quite say the same for his wig.

    The film isn't perfect. It showboats a little too often with unneeded montages, and it's perhaps a bit over-plotted (Rose McGowan shows up so that Rose McGowan can be in the movie). Despite those minor gripes, however, I was pleasantly surprised by this overlooked gem - it's performances are memorable, it's script is sharp, and it's action sequences are gritty and thrilling.
  • bort16
    September 27, 2008
    bort16
    The Irish troubles have proved a reliable subject ground for films, some good good, some great, some blah. Fifty Dead Men Walking certainly does not benefit from me recently seeing Steve McQueen's great Hunger. That film took its subject matter seriously; it was elegant and full ...( read more)of artistic integrity. This film, sadly, is not.
    And that really is a shame, given the story this film has to tell. Based on the true life experiences of Martin McGartland. McGartland was a small time crook, who when captured and faced with prison was persuaded by Special Branch to inform on the IRA. He eventually moved his way up through their ranks until he was eventually discovered. He managed to escape the IRA by jumping out of a third story window, saved by passers by before anyone else could get to him. He survived an assassination attempt while hiding in Canada, and is still hiding today.
    The internal conflict for Martin, of informing on old friends with the British, is plumbed, but rarely convincingly. Jim Sturgess plays McGartland. His performance is solid, but nothing special. He spends most of the movie conversing with Fergus (Ben Kingsley), his Special Branch contact.
    His IRA friends, and old mate Sean (Kevin Zegar, who's performance is good), Mickey, and Rosena Brown (Rose McGowan) are dedicated to the cause. Meanwhile, Martin seems conflicted depending on the situation.
    The troubles are a complex conflict. Atrocities are committed on both sides. The British have long held Northern Ireland under an oppressive thumb. Catholics rarely were afforded any kind of opportunity, while the planted protestants more or less ran the show. Catholics are the minority in Northern Ireland. Vicious British and Protestant gang action was naturally met with vicious Catholic action, in the form of the IRA. That cycle of violence continued unabated for decades.
    Fifty Dead Men Walking wants to give a history lesson, but gets too preoccupied with portraying McGartland as an unquestioned hero. It does give some mandatory scenes and conversations telling why the IRA exists, but it feels tacked on. Especially considering that the film really is something of a puff piece for the Brits. An ending blurb tells us that an inquiry found that during the 70s and 80s the British were found to have committed some atrocities. That feels cheap and diversionary after what we've just seen.
    Nevertheless, the situation is so complicated that I should return to reviewing this movie according to its cinematic merits. Director Kari Skogland (The Stone Angel) seems a poor choice to direct what should be a gritty character piece. She is. The film so deserperately wants to be cool taht it ends up making its subject matter cliche. It could all be true, but it feels cliche. Its almost as if Skogland was directing a different movie all together. It wants to be some kind of Scorsese crime thriller, but fails. The camerawork tries to be gritty with handheld shots, a la Bloody Sunday. Elsewhere, Skogland pumps her awful choices for a soundtrack.
    This complex story deserves a serious film. Instead this one is just so, so poorly directed it's infuriating and finally completely offputting. This is a dark and conflicted plot that Skogland seems to think she can make into a fluffy romp. Sure nasty things happen, but having it wiped away by usually awful pop music is frustrating. In the end everything becomes too standard, too familiar, too cliche. That this story deserved to be handled better, makes the movie worse.
    The movie might find an audience, with the rising star in Sturgess, and its desperate attempts to be audience friendly. Hunger, on the other hand will likely be left to sit in the wings. That's unfortunate - that great film has all the answers why this one is not.
  • Ametrine
    October 28, 2009
    Ametrine
    the same bla bla about an ordinary guy gets recruited both by the mafia and the law and gets screwed. it's not bad, and even good, but we have seen many movies with the same concept and it gets bored.
  • Poek
    September 8, 2009
    Poek
    Wel een indrukwekkend verhaal, maar ook naar...
  • johnandrewchristie
    August 20, 2009
    johnandrewchristie
    a very fascinating look into the ira with power house performances from ben kingsley, jim sturges and canadian actor kevin zegers as the big standout with full irish mode

    well told but the only complaint i have is that its feel too much like biopic than a real movie
  • Nenebelle
    August 11, 2009
    Nenebelle
    Recommended by scottydgibbs.

    Not my kind of movie.
  • jmlanlo
    July 27, 2009
    jmlanlo
    Règle numéro 1: ne pas péter plus haut que son cul (ça, c'est pour Ben Kingsley et Kari Skogland).
    Règle numéro 2: Ne pas rendre simpliste ce qui est complexe (ça, c'est pour le scénario...)
  • Robbanflix
    July 10, 2009
    Robbanflix
    A true story based movie about the life of Martin McGartland from west Belfast. He is recruited by the British Police to spy on the IRA under the 80's. A pretty exciting plot and totally unknown event for me but there have been very promising words about this movie so i gave it a...( read more) shot. In the beginning i was a bit skeptical but the more i watched it became more and more interesting and it was actually a rather decent flick but not as good as the rumor. Not many familar faces here despite Ben Kingsley and he did a great performance. The actor who played Martin managed the role quite well but i felt it could have been better time to time. Anyway a movie worth seeing but nothing to rush to in my opinion that is.
  • glory1bobby
    July 1, 2009
    glory1bobby
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