Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Disturbing yet enthralling

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie had some raw, redeeming qualities, illustrating the brutality of a country torn apart by conflict. The action sequences were well directed, and the cinematography offered a sense of gritty realism. The realism of what the main character experienced was refreshing, but the overall lack of a clear story (start, middle, end), combined with underdeveloped characters, and unexplained events/relationships made for an underwhelming experience.

In the early days of The Troubles, a group of young soldiers are sent to support an RUC search for weapons. The situation spirals out of control, and one greenhorn ends up separated from his comrades and gets left behind. There then follows a long night in Belfast, as SAS, young Provos, UVF and senior IRA men all come across the soldier and try to manipulate him for their own agenda. "We take care of our own," say senior officers, but the film shows the truth to be anything but. This is a low-budget film that does an excellent job of exceeding its fiscal limitations to fashion a taught, gritty thriller. In essence it is one long chase movie on foot, but it never flags, and all dialogue and period detail is plausibly authentic. I would have liked to know more about the soldier, to be more emotionally invested in his character. There is a relationship with a younger brother that bookends the film, but it is an under-developed part of the story. A tale of one man's fight against horrible odds, and no knowledge of Ulster's history is required to enjoy this. The folly of war, and man's cruelty to man vividly dissected.

Jack O'Connell stars in this film that tells the story of a young British soldier that was accidentally abandoned by his unit after a riot on the streets of Belfast back in the 1971.Richard Dormer Sean Harris,Sam Reid,Charlie Murphy,Paul Anderson and Paul Popplewell co-star with him in a British independent drama directed by Yann Demange.Gary Hook is a new recruit of the British Army.He is part of the platoon that was sent to Belfast in 1971 during the early years of the Troubles in Ireland.Having an inexperienced platoon leader in Second Lieutenant Armitage,the platoon was sent in a violent are where the Catholics and the Protestant are loving together.The unit that he is assigned to conducts inspections of homes for firearms. Protesters known as the Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Loyalists gather side by side which later provoke a riot.Hook got left by the platoon accidentally.Without knowing who among the people are his friend or foe and getting wary of his platoon mates, he tries to survive the night alone and find his way to be safe through a unknown area.This was a good film.It was solidly acted and it definitely provides a lot of thrills and excitement especially with the experiences of Hook as he tries to survive the night at Belfast.Aside from Hook,the viewer is also able to get a glimpse of how tough times are ahead during the so-called Troubles at Belfast in Northern Ireland.Jack O' Connell did well as Hook.No question that his performance was a good one as he was able to capture the emotional authenticity of his character to what he was going through on his own at Belfast.Overall,this part action thriller and part historical drama is worth viewing.

I was looking for something to watch when I came across this movie as something I might like based on A Most Violent Year (a film I didn't watch in favour of this one). It seems a lot of people have trouble understanding what exactly is going on. As a Brit that grew up in 80s/90s England I have no problem with this, but I can see it being an issue if you are otherwise not familiar with The Troubles. Therefore, before you watch this movie it would help if you read some background in to the history of the conflict (just go to the Wikipedia page for 'The Troubles'). Essentially, this story is set in 1971, the early stages of the conflict (it began in 1968), before Bloody Sunday and there was still an air of perhaps naivety from the British (explains the actions of the commander at the beginning not wanting to use riot gear). A soldier foolishly runs behind 'enemy lines' to retrieve a rifle that a kid has picked up and run off with. Not surprisingly, this soldier then proceeds to get a kicking, as does a mate that tries to help him. The mate ends up getting shot but he manages to survive, largely in part due to the sensibilities of the residents present who manage to delay the shooters. He ends up running down alleys to escape, etc, and the rest of the film is portraying his attempt to get back to his barracks. This is when it becomes hard for people unfamiliar with the history find it confusing. He is a target for the provisional IRA (Catholic), whilst the Official IRA (the IRA split in two in 69/70) want to keep him alive, afraid of the consequences otherwise. Then you have the Ulster/Loyalist faction (Protestant, the little boy, etc) who are essentially pro- British and want to kill the Republicans (IRA). Furthermore, you have the shady undercover agents of the British military who are mostly helping the Loyalists (Ulster paras) but also want him dead since he saw them helping with bomb making for the Ulsters. The film is well directed and the acting is first rate. Personally, I found that it held my attention throughout and was a gripping storyline. The cinematography is top notch and it felt as though it was 1971. I have no experience of NI in the 70s, so can't comment on the accuracy of the sets, other than to say it looked how I remember seeing NI in all the news reports back in the day.