Boring and Contrived with fake set pieces

Rating: 1/10 (25 December 2009)

I was looking forward to this. I loved the directors earlier work. However this film left me cold. Straight from the start we have nonsense. A big warm clean warehouse (with elaborate wooden structures and tunnels) peopled with Mad-Max like hellish Oirish folk behaving in a ways that would be frowned upon by the Catholic Church. However it looks like the Catholic Church has gone medivel because the Church is represented here by Leanardo's Dad who seems to be encouraging everyone towards ultra-violence. He is the Stoic Priest who is strangely leading everyone including his child to a nasty brutal gang fight (with every sharp instrument you can think of) behind the banner of some rabbit skins. Think about it for a moment - a Catholic Priest following the banner of dead rabbit skins taking his son to major massacre?! Does it make any kind of sense? Anyway - outside they all introduce themselves like WFF Wrestlers before what appears to be a Braveheart in New York!
Blood everywhere. It was meant to be in a freezing winter - but breath/blood vapour. And judging by the violence - one would expect far more blood and maiming. Instead we have people totally dying ( with little blood loss) - or Totally fine and tireless. Then to add further insult to endless injury the snow turns out to be cotton wool. Pause it and see for yourself! I am not kidding. These Hard Oirishmen are fighting on soft cotton wool!
Inevitably the invincible DDL kills Leonardo's dad and automatically the fight stops. Bear in mind this is a pre-arranged fight that the priest wants his son to see. The arranged fight ends with great drama and civility with DDL paying much respect to the fallen Liam. he even asks for the son to be educated! Yet the son still seeks revenge? The Son ends up in a Orphanage type home where they teach him to do nothing but grimace and a little kung Fu.
All this time we are subjected to well dodgy Oirish accents and music. It was getting a bit much. Then when Cameron Diaz started speaking with such an obviously fake accent - I switched off. It was now too much. Over 2 hours were left and I have no regrets!
PS - I can handle my crap films - I have sat through OMEN 4