Search - The Devil's Own on DVD

Craig S. (InnerMacro) from WAUSAU, WI
Reviewed on 3/31/2023...

There was a time during the 90s when Hollywood was infatuated with Stinger missiles, as though they were the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. I suppose they took the place held by the nuclear bomb in the 80s movies. Anyway, the Devil's Own is one of these 'Stinger' movies. Pitt plays an IRA terrorist / patriot trying to smuggle these weapons back to Ireland from Brooklyn by boat. Ford plays a 23-year veteran of the Brooklyn police who learns of the plan and tries to prevent further killing. Ford's acting is fine, but his character is incredibly naive and boy-scoutish to the point of REALLY (and unbelievably) risking his own safety, especially for supposedly being a salty police sergeant in one of the highest crime mega-cities in the USA. The film goes out of its way to portray him as a 'good cop' who never had to shoot anyone, and always gave the perps a break when they were 'just down on their luck'. I suppose this is possible, but it merely gave me the impression that Ford would have to have been slacking all those years, part of an organized crime informant "plant", or some similar reason that gets a guy through 23 years and only "firing his gun four times in the line of duty" . . . AND they show him as still being on the street beat after all those years! Anyway, this movie might be interesting for those who are uninformed about the politics of the IRA, but there are certainly better movies out there on this subject. Action film fans are likely to be annoyed by Ford, or maybe just bored. I would guess this movie made most of its money from fans attracted to Pitt and Ford - fans that likely would have seen this movie regardless of its subject matter, and I doubt those fans were disappointed.

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K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 1/10/2023...

Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt and Treat Williams shine in this in different ways. A must watch!

If You Aren't Confused, You Don't Know What's Going On

Silmarwen | Huntington Beach, CA United States | 04/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Francis 'Frankie' McGuire (Brad Pitt) is one of the most wanted IRA terrorists in Belfast, Ireland. He is wanted for the murder of several police officers and army soldiers, among others. But now his group is raising the stakes. They are no longer going to waste their time with guns - they are going for missiles. So Frankie heads to New York City under the alias Rory Devaney. An Irish judge sets him up to live with the O'Meara family, headed by Sergaent Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford), one of New York's finest. As Frankie works to overhaul a boat and deal with the slimy arms dealer, Billy Burke (Treat Williams), he finds himself growing attached to the O'Meara family and wishing that he had the opportunity to lead such a life. When Billy Burke sends men to the O'Meara house looking for his money, Frankie knows that it is time to go before he ends up harming the family who made him a part of their home for a short time. But once Tom O'Meara discovers Frankie's real identity, he isn't about to let him go...I will be the first to admit that I didn't understand everything that was going on in the plot, but Brad Pitt's character said that "If you aren't confused [about the situation in Ireland], you don't know what is going on," and I found that to be pretty true for the whole story line. In fact, it was more of a slice of life and time passing than a story with an actual beginning and end. Aside from the plot, the movie really shines with the superb acting in the film. I truly cared for these characters, even though one of them was a terrorist shown killing several men. Harrison Ford was excellent as a cop who had to live with slightly tarnished honor to cover for his friend and he did a fine job portraying his character's inner struggle as he tried to decide what to do with Frankie. Brad Pitt was gorgeous, as usual, and I thought that his Irish accent was quite charming. Of course, I don't really know what a real Irish accent sounds like, but when Brad spoke in a soft, melodic ripple of sound, it convinced me. The supporting characters were also great, led by Margaret Colin, who played Sheila O'Meara, Harrison Ford's wife and his 'daughters' including Julia Stiles as Bridget, a snotty, always on the phone teenager who refused to admit she had a crush on Frankie, Ashley Carin as Morgan, who fell head over heels for Frankie and the charming Kelly Singer as Annie, who is the youngest and had the most interaction with the main characters. One of the best things about the film was the music, composed by James Homer. It was just beautiful and had a wonderful Irish feel to it to help draw you in. There is also a heartbreakingly beautiful song written and performed by Melissa Etheridge during the closing credits. I have to admit that the ending wasn't what I wanted it to be, but there really was no way to end this movie in a way that made it a happy "American" ending. As the movie ends, Frankie reminds us that it is an Irish story, not an American one - only American stories always have happy endings. All in all, the movie may be a bit muddled and perhaps could have been improved and cleared up, but I still think that this is a movie worth watching - especially if you are a fan of either of the leads."

Take it from one who knows......

Tim Wright | 05/15/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Right....I come from Northern Ireland, and I'll tell you right now most people writing reviews here (apart from a couple, you know who you are) don't have a clue what they're talking about.This isn't a great movie but it definitly isn't a bad one either, its flawed but worth watching.
And you aren't going to understand "The Troubles" by watching a movie, you need to do some serious reading, its complex.And....Brad Pitts accent is fine, probably the best I've heard from an American actor in a mainstream movie."

I am Oirish and I thought it was quite good....

Tim Wright | Menlo Park, CA, USA | 07/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OK, so I'll admit that Brad Pitt's accent is not perfect and there's no way any IRA man would be that pretty (imagine if Brad Pitt looked like Gerry Adams - I doubt he would get as many roles). But the accent is actually not that bad, and Belfast people do actually say "foks sake" quite frequently.



I agree there are some dubious moments in the plot and that the action scenes are a little far fetched, but hey, this is Hollywood, and there is enough of a "gritty realism" feel imparted elsewhere to distract the viewer from these minor inconsistencies.



Harrison Ford plays the same character he played in Patriot Games / Air Force 1 / The Fugitive, which is fine by me since I enjoyed all those movies and I am a big Harrison fan.



I didn't find the plot partucularly confusing (it's pretty straightforward really). And although I certainly wouldn't venture to say that the script delivers chapter and verse on the hellishly complicated political situation in N. Ireland, it does at least go some way to explaining the mechanisms (personal revenge, indoctrination) that drive the cycle of violence there.



And the bittersweet ending has the desired effect.





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