This was a good film. It's a British political drama at its core, so it's not going to be for everyone. Further, it's also based on real events in Northern Ireland during the 80's (who knows how accurately portrayed), so that might put even more people off. The long and short of this film is that I liked it, but I didn't fall in love with it. It was a good story, and it had a main character that I really wanted to root for, it looked good, and it had a lot of very convincing acting. As an alternative to a documentary about the real events, I'd have to strongly recommend this approach instead.
The odd thing about the movie is just how little the main character did in order to earn his place in history. Sure, there are at least 50 men and their families who might disagree with me on that (hence the title), but it always shocks me how trivial actions can sometimes earn the ire of some pretty whacked out violent people. Salman Rushdie? Kurt Westergaard? Yeah, write a little poetry or draw a cartoon and you could have religious fundamentalists chomping at the bit to kill you, apparently. Sturgess' character certainly did more than that, but to have them hunt you down forever?! Geesh...
I do have one casting note. Remember the red headed bomb shell from Patriot Games (that turned out to be a brunette) that was able to use her irresistible feminine wiles to lure any and all men into telling her secrets that would ultimately get them killed? Rose McGowan plays the actual spy (?) on whom that character is based, but I just wasn't buying it. They should have hired the brunette... Rose is attractive in her own right, but she is not the kind of classic beauty that could convincingly pull that off. Maybe I'm being nit-picky, but it's kind of like those movies where the 'everyman' is married to a super model that can't get enough of him... and then he ends up screwing it all up by sleeping with the brainless homely woman that works in his office. Yeah, it's kind of like that. Just not believable... in my humble opinion.
Other than that little tidbit, I have to say that I recommend this film as a thinking man's action movie.
Were there funny parts to this movie? Absolutely. Was it funny enough to go an entire hour and a half? No, not really. As can be expected from one of the co-creators of South Park, Trey Parker's Cannibal the Musical is full of sophomoric humor. (Reads: fart and dick jokes.) If you like South Park, then you'll probably like this one, but it gets a little tiresome after a while. If this had been a long skit, or even a half hour gag reel, then it probably would have been ok. The problem is that this one just kept going and going and going. It was just too long for the few "bright" spots in the movie.
I realize that this was originally a school project put together with friends, but the acting was still pretty bad. Even if you look at this like a local community theater production (a few decent actors and singers, but the majority of the roles filled with hacks), there are still some pretty stinky actors/singers that should probably have been recast. Maybe I would have been more forgiving if it really was shot as a play, with cheesy sets and the whole nine yards, I would have bought into it, but this wasn't a play... it was a movie.
And frankly, that's all I've got to say about this movie. There was a bit of originality (although similar in tone to other goof-westerns like Blazing Saddles), especially the fact this was a musical, and I appreciate the effort that went into it. The script had some bright points, and the concept was funny. It just wasn't pulled off with the professional quality that I would expect out of most movies I see...even though, yes, I'll say it again, I realize it was a class project and not a movie created for wide release. I gave it two stars out of pity, but had it been executed better (and shorter), it could have been a solid two and a half.
