The mob can be beaten. An Irishman proved it. He got killed for it, but so did the head of the mob in Cleveland. Didnt know it was a true story. Just saw the trailer and wanted to indulge in just another gangster movie. It is a good one though. Quite impressive. Certainly because it really tells the tale of a true story about the Irish gangsters who literally blew up the Italian mob in Cleveland back in the seventies. Almost 40 bomb attacks in one city! Resulting in a designated hit on Danny Green, the tough Irish gangster who lead the revolt against the Italian mob in Cleveland.The lead character played by Ray Stevenson really has got charisma, the likes of Sean Connery had: bravoure with brass balls and a wink. This man really carries this picture. He is convincing as a mad Irishman who didnt gave a rat's ass if he lived or died. "It's up to the man above to decide". Really pleased with this picture. There arent many tough gangstermovies. There are a lot of movies that wanna look tough, but aint. This one is the real thing! Oh yeah!I wont say it's a gangster's masterpiece, but it is comparable to "Snatch" (2000) and " Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" (1998) both Guy Ritchie movies that portray the tough hooligan side of british gangsters. It is stripped of any of the elegance and glamour in other mob movies. It is rock hard, eye for an eye. It isnt really a classic mob movie, it is really a movie about how the mob in Cleveland gets wasted themselves, to the growing disbelief of crime bosses in New York. Who is this Irishman that is to be feared by everybody and defeats the Italian mob single handedly? True story! Pay attention to the endcredits in which is revealed that these Irish gangsters indirectly set in motion the biggest roll up of Italian mob bosses in the history of organised crime in the U.S.The endcredits also shows a short clip of an interview with the real Danny Green. What a guy!

The pros and cons of living a life with or against the mob in the 1970s. Well, mostly the cons.

Danny Greene's life story seems tailor-made for Hollywood. But ultimately the movie proves less compelling than the man. Kill the Irishman brings Greene's story to the screen but does so in rather mundane fashion. Chock-full of mob movie clichés there's not enough here to make this movie stand out from the pack. The movie is overflowing with violence, shootings and bombings galore, yet still seems to lack in energy. An explosive start promises great things but things soon fizzle out. Danny Greene leads a very interesting life but the movie really doesn't capture that. The story as presented here is actually somewhat dull and clearly disappointing.Danny Greene may be the hero of the film but make no mistake he's not a good guy. He's mixed up in all sorts of nefarious activity as he rises from lowly Cleveland dock worker to union president to full-fledged mobster. Cleveland's Italian mafia kingpins have no patience for this Irishman who thumbs his nose at them at every opportunity. So eventually they decide they want Danny Greene dead. Easier said than done as he escapes one attempt on his life after another. Cleveland becomes the car-bombing capital of the world as mob war rages. Seems like there should be a lot of excitement here, this should be a movie absolutely crackling with energy. But it's actually a bit of a dud.Ray Stevenson does a decent enough job playing Danny Greene but is not quite charismatic enough. For this movie to work Danny has to be absolutely irresistible, you have to be mesmerized by him. And you're really not. It's Danny's movie, none of the other characters rise above sideshow status. All the clichéd roles are there. There's a wife, a girlfriend, a cop and a bunch of mostly anonymous tough guys. There's also Christopher Walken playing a typical Christopher Walken role. At least his character stands out a bit. The rest of the supposed big-time mobsters disappoint. The Italian bosses actually come across as somewhat pathetic, acting like big-shots as they run their little Cleveland family but needing to call in some real mafia guys from New York to try to clean up their Danny Greene mess. And make no mistake, Danny Greene revels in making a mess. There's seemingly a lot of very good material here but the movie falls flat. It's an interesting story. And there's a nice 1970s period feel to it, the movie looks good. But the movie never really grabs you. This should be edge-of-the-seat stuff. And it is not. The story of Danny Greene is one worth telling. You just wish it was told in better fashion than this.

Great cast, great acting, and an absolute must-see for mafia-philes. Ray Stevenson and Linda Cardellini give exceptional performances as Danny and Joan Greene in this hard hitting story based on his life. Unlike many bio-dramas, this one moves along at a rocket pace, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats. D'Onofrio is exceptional in this role, as is Christopher Walken, and you have to wonder how Stevenson keeps up with such powerful performers, but he does. Lots of favorite character actors dress up this larger than life scenario, including the lovely and always enticing Fionnula Flanagan as the neighbor, Mike Starr as one of Tony Lo Biano's enforcers, and Bob Gunton as the Union President who can't stand on his own. Paul Sorvino gives us the perfect NYC mob boss image and, while his role is brief, it's a performance worth watching. Val Kilmer's role as the police officer who grew up with Greene is subdued, but he carries it off with the right tone and balance to the film. Since a great film always comes down to the director, we have to give Jonathon Hensleigh a resounding round of applause for this fascinating and entertaining portrait of the under-workings of the mob. Rated R for violence, language and sexual situations, if you like films like the Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino, etc, you are going to love this one. And if you are a fan of those, this needs to be added to your collection.