Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Blistering performances.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I was never a Patrick Swayze fan, not because of his ability as an actor, but the movies he made. After watching the complete series of North And South, which he made before he became famous, i thought we would be in for some fine films. Next Of Kin in my view was an exception. The usual revenge story line, a member of a family is murdered by the mob and his family want revenge. What i found interesting about Next Of Kin, was the way Bill Paxtons family were portrayed. Not the usual cliché of being eliterite, stupid and being moonshiners. They were portrayed as intelligent human beings not to fool around with. I thought the entire cast played their parts well. Some reviewers criticise Ben Stiller for being miscast as a mobsters son. Well members of the Cosa Nostra do not walk around looking like people with blood dripping fangs and frothing at the mouth, they look like everyone else. Remember what Martin Scosece said in an interview about making Goofellas. A good film to watch on a quiet evening.

The film is directed by Englishman John Irvin who has made a rather unsung career out of bringing a stronger-than-usual sense of characterization to genre films. Although Irvin's filming of the action scenes are a little pedestrian, he still has a strong visual sense and manages to vividly contrast the conflicting worlds of the country and the city. The film's supporting cast is well chosen and both the heroes and the villains all come to life with a surprising amount of dignity. At no point do any of the actors demean their roles by playing... typical hillbillies or, for that matter, typical mobsters and that shows an unusual and admirable amount of integrity for a film of this sort. Paxton isn't on screen long but remains, as always, a likable presence and Adam Baldwin makes a compellingly understandable and hissable villain. Michael J. Pollard shows up as a hillbilly and brings his trademark quirkiness to the proceedings while the role of the nerdy mob scion is played by Ben Stiller, of all people. It's a little jarring to see Stiller show up on screen (especially playing an essentially villainous role) yet he gives a strong performance without resorting to do any standard Stiller bits. Helen Hunt's role is... typical but she's probably far warmer in this role than she's been in any of her prestige pictures. Certainly, the best performance in the film is given by Liam Neeson who dominates the proceedings with the grim sincerity he brings to his quest for revenge. This Irish actor also manages to perfectly capture the unique accent of the Appalacian region. As an actor, Patrick Swayze has always been limited and he's always been better at projecting sincerity than complexity. Luckily, his role in Next of Kin has been designed to require little more of him than sincerity and, if Next of Kin doesn't represent his best performance, its certainly his most likable.The music was great in this movie, a little culture and a lot of country. Swayze again wrote a song especially for this movie "Brothers" sung by Swayze and Larry Gatlin. All in all, Great acting from Liam Neeson and Patrick Swayze.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Shot on location in Chicago, Next Of Kin is about a culture clash between two groups that are known for longstanding vendettas. They would be the Sicilian Mafia and the hillbillies of the Appalachians.Patrick Swayze is one of three brothers of whom the youngest, Bill Paxton, is killed after organized crime takes over a trucking firm he was a driver for. They killed the wrong guy because in addition to being Paxton's brother, Swayze is also a Chicago police detective. Of course Swayze has to operate within the parameters of the law. That's not the case for the oldest brother Lian Neeson. He comes to Chicago just looking for them that did the deed.Andreas Katsulas is the Mafia crime family head and he's got an idiot son played by Ben Stiller whom he turns over to enforcer Adam Baldwin to learn the business. Stiller goes right to the top of the criminal food chain with Baldwin when he and Baldwin kill Paxton. But Baldwin is a survivor and he'll do whatever it takes to survive.The showdown between hillbillies and Mafioso takes place with a cemetery at night serving as the OK Corral. It's quite a battle and justice is served if not the law.Next Of Kin is your routine action film, but it does have one thing going for it that I have to praise. The hillbillies are real people here, they're not the Clampetts of Beverly Hills nor the mouth breathers from Deliverance. I'm glad that the producers avoided stereotyping them which would have been easy. Swayze is a good action hero and his leading lady is Helen Hunt who as Mrs. Swayze in the film is not given all that much to do. Fans of the late Patrick Swayze will be very happy with Next Of Kin.

What makes this action drama particularly moving is the comparison between the extended family of a Sicilian crime boss and the clannishness of the hillbillies. While Joey Rosellini insults the mountain folks as people "who farm rocks" his boss John Isabella sees the link -- "that is what they said about our people back in the old country." It is not a matter of who wears the nicer suit; it is a matter of blood, of kinship, and of ensuring that the one with the greater grievance has justice is done for his family. This is a very old tradition, both in the Sicilian families and in those Celtic clans that moved into the hills of Appalachia. In this aspect "Next of Kin" reaches a level of art not usually found in action films. The scene of the women packing sandwiches for the big hunt shows a level of clan community not well understood by us city-folk.Watch this film and enjoy.