A Prayer for the Dying

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Jelisije J A movie about a repented IRA soldier taking solace in a preacher and his blind niece while trying to recover the pieces of his soul from the criminal underworld. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/19/24 Full Review delysid d terrible accent but otherwise cool movie Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/17/21 Full Review eoin h A younger Mickey Rourke with a very good performance which could have been great if not for the sometimes dodgy Irish accent. A decent thriller with a good backstory about an IRA man who wants to get out but only to get pulled in for one last job (although maybe not entirely original). Solid cast but Liam Neeson could have been used more and Alan Bates felt a little too posh at times to be a ruthless London gangster. Also felt that the love interest between the Fallon and the blind priest's niece felt a little contrived. There is plenty of action and tension throughout the movie which is worth a watch although could be a bit shorter. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Yes, it's very violent. But Alan Bates as more than a mortuary director, Mickey Rourke who wants out of murdering for the IRA, and Bob Hoskins as a Catholic priest who wants to save his soul are all excellent. The ending is worth watching the movie for. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A small IRA team, including Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) and Liam Docherty (Liam Neeson), tries to blow up two British Army Land Rovers, but at he last minute, a school bus overtakes the army vehicles and detonates the bomb as it passes, killing the children. After most of the team escape the scene pursued by the soldiers, Fallon travels to London in a bid to escape the past. In London, he is approached by a contact who asks him to take on one last job on behalf of local gangster Jack Meehan (Alan Bates) and his brother Billy Meehan (Christopher Fulford). They offer Fallon money, a passport and passage to the US if he kills a rival gangster. Initially reluctant, he nonetheless takes on the job. However, as he is carrying out the hit in a graveyard, he is seen and confronted by the local Catholic priest, Father Michael Da Costa (Bob Hoskins). The confrontation is watched from a distance by Billy Meehan, who tells his brother there is a witness to the killing... "A Prayer for the Dying" was done when Mickey Rourke still was hot in Hollywood and I like the set up of the storyline, even if it´s hardly a unique foundation of a story. The drama is well paced with solid subplots that adds to the movie. The atmosphere and cinematography gives the film a certain feel and I do like the close up structure from Hodges. Rourke seems a bit off, but he still delivers a fine portrait of a man who has lost faith in mankind and simply wants to disappear from his past and violent deeds. Alan Bates, Bob Hoskins, Liam Neeson adds proper weight, and I like the lovely Alison Doody´s cold IRA operative. Yes, the ending is maybe a bit too over explicit and somehow you get the feeling that film never did reach its full potential during the shooting and in the editing room. Apparently did both director Mike Hodges and Mickey Rourke disown the film as it wasn't the finished film they intended to make based on the Jack Higgins novel from 1973. Nevertheless, despite its flaws I do like "A Prayer for the Dying". Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member IRA terrorist finds a conscience after blowing up a school bus of children rather than intended army soldiers. His leave is made complicated by former acquaintances who try to force him back to do the dirty work to further the cause. Rourke was a pretty solid lead in the day Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews

A Prayer for the Dying

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