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johnnycleary
Reviews
Fatal Deviation (1998)
A modern masterpiece
I remember laughing at the idea of an Irish Kung Fu film set in Trim Co.Meath but after witnessing the cinematic genius of this motion picture I'm left awestruck. I would first like to commend the actors. All of them filled their roles to a standard that had not been seen in filmmaking before with nuanced traits that added a grey area to the typical good vs evil formula of your typical action film. James Bennett did an outstanding job as himself and very noticeably delivered all his lines with such smoothness that one would think that he wasn't even acting. The monks added an air of mystery to the film with the beautiful backdrop of trim making an amazing filming location as well. I could feel the magical presence that influenced James Bennett to pick up the noble sport of martial arts. The opening scene of the film is probably the best introduction to a character that I have ever seen in a motion picture. Now though being cinematic masterpiece it still is at the end of the day an action film and one would one would wonder before watching it what the action is like. And I'm not lying when I say that the action is on par, if not better than major Hollywood productions. Overall this film is a step forward for Irish filmmaking, as an Irishman myself I could enjoy the film on a deeper level that many foreign audiences might be incapable of but to everyone reading this review, I must say that this is one of the greatest achievements of filmmaking ever produced and is a must watch. I now make a pilgrimage to the town of trim every year to honour this landmark of film.