Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

How sad is this?

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The real surprise of this effortlessly lightweight movie is how such a top notch cast got assembled for what is nothing more than a hammy uninspiring affair. Presumably it was a proverbial snowball rolling down a hill gathering pace and size and shape. One can imagine that by the time Miranda Richardson got contacted by her agent, the conversation went along the lines of: 'Do you want to shoot a movie in Dublin scripted by Neil Jordan? Michael Caine and Michael Gambon are already in!' This is a dull 'comedy' that sees Michael Caine and Dylan Moran try and pull off a well-planned hustle where Moran must imitate a London gangland boss (whose arrival is imminent) to collect a sizable sum of cash from local kingpin Michael Gambon. The rest is simply a forgettable romp that is thankfully over quite quickly. Moran is mildly amusing in places but on this evidence is better suited to life on the small screen in hit comedies such as Black Books. Caine is unchallenged in his role and gives a steady performance without being overstretched. One can only imagine what made him sign up for this movie - it can't even have been a summer in Dublin given that many of the scenes look positively autumnal in the background. Gambon actually steals the show, and anyone who has caught some of his performances in the likes of Have I Got News For You will know that he is a wonderfully funny man. But overall the result is disappointing, and it seems a lifetime ago that Neil Jordan was making quality movies of the likes of Mona Lisa.

At first I thought this film was going to annoy me.It was as though I had seen this movie somewhere before. The disillusioned hero, the father figure and the 9 year old sister who is older and wiser than her years (see Gregory's girl), but then, not 15 minutes in, it became a laugh out loud, comic gem of a movie. Dylan Moran (who I thought was just going to bug me) was excellent. As was Mr Gambon and the mad Scottish hitman. Lena Headey was extremely sexy. For half of the film I was trying to remember where I'd seen her before. The Parole officer. She has the most amazing smile. But clearly the true hero of this film is Mr Caine. This man should do much more comedy. This ranks alongside some of his best comedy roles (Without a Clue, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). He is a pleasure to watch in all of his scenes but especially the end. No one can quite say f**k the way Michael can.

The gags don't always come off, but the overall effect is amusing enough. Dylan Moran is perfectly cast as Tom, a loser actor. Caine is not challenged O'Malley but I didn't find him very funny. Unusual to find Michael Nyman music in a comedy, but it works well. It is a pity there were only bit parts for Michael McElhatton and Deirdre O'Kane. Good fun.

The plot drunkenly careers from silly to ridiculous and makes less and less sense as it nears the end. The photography isn't exactly the stuff of Oscars, either. I still can't see what the point of the little girl is. And the theme is, frankly, dreadful.Fortunately, there is a reason to see this film. The two Sir Michaels re - like the Richard III poster says - "Perfect-ly Adequate" but Dylan Moran is seriously good as Tom, and it was his performance that stopped me from walking out of the cinema. How frustrating to see his first major movie role be in such a dumb film. Here's hoping it doesn't stop him from getting the recognition (and the roles) he deserves!