Buy Fifty Dead Men Walking (Blu-Ray) from Play.com
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jim Strurgess, Rose McGowan
As a new release to DVD, Fifty Dead Men Walking caught my eye for no other reason that it had a nice cover. Very vein of me, but i knew nothing about it and thought i’d give it a go.
It is based on a true story although a lot of the names, places and intricate details have been changed. It is the story of a young Irish guy called Martin, played by Jim Sturgess. He is recruited to the secret service by Ben Kingsley codename – Fergus to infiltrate the IRA’s inner structure and tip off the police about anything big going down. This is where the name of the film comes from as due to the tip offs he gives the police, he prevents the death of fifty people.
I didn’t know too much about the situation in Northern Ireland before watching. I knew the basic premise but after watching the film i had a very clear of the harshness of the reality of dealing with that way of life on a day to day basis, even just for the standard citizen living in the war zone – let alone the people actually involved directly within the police, the army and the IRA.
To be honest, its pretty confusing to begin with and its very difficult to work out who is who and who’s fighting on which side. I’m glad to say it does become a lot easier to follow once Martin is affiliated with the IRA.
Its a difficult subject to give an overview of in a relatively short film but they have done a pretty average job. Its very watchable and great performances from the lead characters.
Director: Kari Skogland
Writer: Nicholas Davies, Martin Gartland
