Disappointment for a huge fan!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I saw this film just after having sat through The Sopranos, and was struck by the similarities.The central character is a fat sociopath who leads a life of crime including armed robbery, murder, torture and perverting the course of justice. He is surrounded by a small army of other low-lives who carry out his instructions.None of the characters is engaging, and I personally didn't give a damn what happened to any of them, except that I was quite pleased when the Cahill character got rubbed out, which happens at the very start of the film. (The rest of what you see is a flash-back.) On the positive side, at least you didn't have to watch 6 whole series of one-hour episodes to reach the denouement, and there's a decent performance from Jon Voigt. I'm not Irish but I thought his accent was pretty good.

John Boorman's highly-feted 'comeback' picture is an entertaining tale that is fatally undermined by its almost light-hearted depiction of a vicious career criminal who thought nothing of intimidating witnesses to prevent them testifying against him and who matter-of-factly nails the hands of one of his cohorts, whom he (wrongly) suspects of stealing from him, to a snooker table. It appears that, in Boorman's mind at least, Martin Cahill's less savoury tendencies can be forgiven because he stood up to the IRA, and you can only wonder how anybody can arrive at such a simplistic notion.Cahill is portrayed as a modern-day Robin Hood, but he's a Robin Hood who steals gold from the rich and gives nappies to the poor. When he's not committing crimes he's a lovable rogue with an engaging sense of humour and a love of pigeons. He lives in a nice house and has a loving wife (and sister-in-law) and he's really just like you and me. The police, meanwhile, are either dim-witted fools whom Cahill uses to provide him with alibis as he carries out his audacious crimes or corrupt bullies who take sadistic pleasure in upsetting Cahill at every opportunity.Brendan Gleeson is OK as Cahill, but he's effortlessly overshadowed by the under-rated Adrian Dunbar as his sidekick Noel Curley. While rarely holding down a starring role, Dunbar never fails to give a convincing performance and he makes the most of a role here that is given scant attention in Boorman's quest to sanctify the memory of Cahill.Enjoy the film – you'll find it difficult not to – but as you chuckle at Cahill's exploits (some of which are highly unlikely) just remember he's no different in character from the scum who steal your cars and stab your sons.

This is a great film, but I should warn people who are watching this on DVD that some versions ship with a black and white on one side and a colour version on the other.Do not watch the colour version! For some reason this version has different dialogue (and possibly editing) particularly with regards to swearing - freaking replaces f**king etc. I don't know why this is so but maybe the movie was watered down to get some lesser rating. Whatever the reason, watch the black and white version and see the movie as it was meant to be seen.

"The General" is a critically acclaimed, misdirected mistelling of the misadventures of an Irish gangster of some repute for his eccentric ways. The film is a drama with very strong comedic overtones such that it is doesn't work well as either drama or comedy. In short, "The General" is only mildly interesting, mildly entertaining, and mildly amusing. I was suckered into watching the film by good reviews and high marks from IMDB.com users. A cute flick for those with an interest in recent Irish history in general or Martin Cahill in particular.