What makes it different from others?

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

This is the story of a guy who used to be a member of some radical faction of the IRA who has left that life and has managed to "go straight." He lives in Brixton, with a Rasta pirate DJ living above him, and a drug dealer living below him.One day, some of his old comrades, wanted by the police, show up at his door, and drag him back into his old life. The always awesome Roger Daltrey shows up as one of the boys in the old brigade, though as someone else commented, he's not given enough screen time.It was really cool to see Vinnie Jones get a three dimensional role. He's fantastic as a gangster or thug, but here he plays a guy with a conscience. He does a really convincing job of it, and as I'm used to seeing him play one kind of character, I was a bit surprised by this one.I think part of what works here is he doesn't overact. He doesn't seem self-conscious about having what is, perhaps for him, a deeper character than usual. He pulls it off with reserve and without histrionics or over-acting, and I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I hope to see him do more of this kind of thing in the future (hopefully not to the exclusion of his tough guy gangster roles!) Patrick Bergin, an actor I wasn't familiar with before this movie, does a fine job as a radical bomber who seems to be in it for all the wrong reasons (such that there's anything but wrong reasons to be into political terrorism, but that's a whole other discussion). As an Irish tough guy with a swagger and an air of irresponsibility, he gives it just the right amount of gusto to make the character work.Lennox Lewis is shockingly good as the pirate DJ, who plays a kind of counter-cultural authority figure or conscience of the film (he is said to be something like "the king" of Brixton.) I didn't even recognize him, but after this I hope to see him in more films.The dubby, reggae soundtrack is fantastic - perfect, actually. The film concerns, at least in part, the interplay between English, Irish, and Jamaican characters, and the soundtrack and script seem quite cohesive in covering this theme.I think this film is underrated. While it isn't The Godfather or anything, this is a solid film, with solid performances. I particularly liked the ending.I recommend it, and I think it's certainly better than the 5.5 it presently has.

Just because Vinnie Jones appears in a movie is no reason to watch it. If you've seen the former British soccer star in "The Condemned," "Played," and "Number One Girl," you know that his cinematic track record isn't consistent. Yes, he's made good movies, such as "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," "Swordfish," and "Snatch," but too many of his films are best for rainy days when you have nothing else to eyeball. It is like they want Vinnie Jones for his compelling presence, but the films lack the dramatic firepower of Vinnie Jones' persona. Happily, while it isn't top-drawer, "Johnny Was" is an above-average opus with a polished look, and persuasive performances. It's worth watching at least once, especially if you are a Vinnie Jones fan.Freshman helmer Mark Hammond manages to keep things moving at a fast pace in this Irish-produced, crime thriller about a group of oddball thugs that circumstances bring together in a London flat. Hammond's fellow Irishman Brendan Foley penned this slightly better-than-average yarn about a former Irish-Republican Army bomber Johnny Doyle (Vinnie Jones) trying to lay low for the last five years despite his unusual, obstreperous neighbors. Unfortunately, Doyle has chosen the worse safe place to conceal himself. He lives beneath a noisy, pirate radio station run by a Rastafarian disc jockey named Ras (former boxer Lennox Lewis) and above a well-dressed but ruthless Jamaican drug dealer Julius (Eriq La Salle of NBC's "E.R.") with a beautiful junkie girlfriend Rita (Samantha Mumba of "The Time Machine" remake) who was briefly once a nurse. During his illegal broadcasts, Ras condemns the bondage that narcotics holds his people in, while he puffs on his marihuana. Meanwhile, Doyle suffers from nightmares about his last terrorist bombing. The memory of his unsuccessful effort to save the life of an innocent female painter haunts him and drives him into hiding. Were these complications not enough, our quasi-hero of sorts finds himself up to his neck in problems when his sadistic mentor Flynn (Patrick Bergin of "Sleeping with the Enemy") and Flynn's latest protégé Michael (Laurence Kinlan of "Ned Kelly") show up on his doorstep after having escaped from Brixton Prison with the cops searching everywhere for him. Flynn is an old-school IRA terrorist who considers innocent bystanders suffering from his bombings as little more than "collateral damage." During the escape, Michael injured his ankle so he spends a lot of time in bed in pain with nurse Rita attending to him. Of course, the jealous Jamaican is none too pleased with this relationship, but Johnny has enough nerve and muscle to keep the lethal drug dealer in line. Just when things appear to be spiraling down for the worse, Flynn makes a deal with Julius to eliminate the latter's competition by blowing them up and then becoming Julius' fifty-fifty partner. Flynn needs money and guns so that he can leave London. Julius buys into Flynn's offer because Flynn plans to knock off the first of Julius' competitors for free. Meanwhile, Julius forces Johnny—because of his experience working for an apothecary—to cut his drugs. Flynn winds up cutting the drugs and he displays his particular brand of cruelty in the amounts that he cuts. Eventually, everything is settled in a blaze of gunfire and explosions with what appears to be the entire equivalent of the London Swat teams surrounding hero and villain at a trail station. Just to keep you on your toes, the ending comes with a little surprise of its own. Mind you, there are some other surprises in "Johnny Was," and we even learn during a final fist-smashing fight between Flynn and Doyle what the significance of the title "Johnny Was" means.Foley's screenplay suffers at times from clichés and stereotypes. For example, Johnny amounts to another one of those tortured heroes who wants to walk the straight and narrow, but he finds himself in unable to because of his old friends and unruly neighbors. Eventually, Johnny gets his wish, but outcome seems reminiscent of those gangsters that changed their stripes at the end of a 1930s movie. Johnny comes off as a fairly sympathetic hero. However, there is nothing sympathetic about either Patrick Bergin's Flynn or Eriq La Salle's vicious drug dealer. Bergin and La Salle deliver excellent, hard case performances, especially La Salle who plays a character that is 180 degrees different than his doctor in "E.R." "Johnny Was" qualifies as strictly minor league stuff, done with some assurance by Hammond, especially the gunfights, and featuring all-around solid performances by a convincing cast. You won't feel bad about watching this Vinnie Jones movie.

A poorly written, terribly acted movie. Do not waste your time watching this movie. I can't even believe I am wasting my time writing a review of it. An IPLA man(what is the IPLA? a fictitious republican paramilitary group, are the producers scared the IRA or INLA will sue them for using their names?) tries to go straight and hides out in Brixton. His past catches up with him when an IPLA man escapes from prison and seeks his help. Blah blah blah the plot is so terrible I can't begin to try and explain how bad it is. If you want to watch a good movie about the troubles watch In the Name of the Father, The Crying Game or The Boxer, not this tripe.

It was great to see a movie that finally did not go with the same old tired themes.It was good to see Eriq out of Er scrubs and not promoting Soul Glo! Seriously though, this movie is one of the few from the past few years which had me wanting to tell friends about it.I really loved the mixing of plot and thought the characters, who clearly have all had a very different mix of backgrounds (Roger Daultry and Lennox Lewis??!!) did a good job meshing.In general, the movie flowed well with good suspense and a solid script.One not to be missed.