Diagonaldi Very well executed

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

benfizzsafc Killing Bono reviewAs always, I'll start this review with info on the film. Killing Bono was a movie released in 2011 and was based on Neil McCormick's 2003 memoir 'Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelgänger.' It was shot in Northern Ireland, funded by Northern Ireland Screen and was released by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Nick Hamm plus, the cast included some great young, upcoming talent in Ben Barnes and Robert Sheehan. In a nutshell, Killing Bono is a rock 'n' roll comedy about two Northern Irish brothers trying and struggling to forge their path through the 1980's music scene. At the same time, their old school friends successfully add their band name in the history of British rockers, their name being U2. Plunging the brothers' band deeper and deeper into the shadows, just like the thousands of other musicians that didn't make it. It has a great story: ambition, ego and the comedy of the 80's music scene all blended together. It's all told in an authentic, light-hearted way by director Hamm, who brings out the best in Barnes and Sheehan. The film overall is enjoyable and the main storyline- continuing dreams of stardom even when they remain out of reach-are hauntingly familiar for some. So it relates to many people well, but in my opinion it needs more funding to transform onto the big screen, although it does well considering the budget. If you're a British music fan or if you want an easy way to tell your kids it's not easy making it in the music industry I highly recommend this film, make sure your children have a working knowledge of U2 beforehand though. RATING: 7.3/10Best parts: The making of 'Bono' and 'The Edge' The "it's the Pope, or me" speech The ending-I won't spoil it

twilliams76 It wanted to be funny but it wasn't -- just as its subjects wanted to be good at music and weren't.Killing Bono is the true-ish story of two Irish brothers who knew U2 front-man, Bono, in school and wanted to rival him in musical skill and talent. That they weren't really any good doesn't register with them as they believe Bono is simply stealing all of their hype and thunder ... so not only do the brother-duo fail on the musical front they fail on the cinematic one as well as they are annoying characters who just don't know when to shut-up or stop.Rivalries always have some potential for some decent stories; but luck just isn't on these Irish brothers' side(s) as they don't ever come across as ones we'd root or feel for. Bono IS better ... deal with it and find something else to do. They are the 80's Irish Winklevii (they were okay but others were much better ... and that's that!).I do think Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father, The Town, Inception) deserves a shout-out here! He is better than this movie and he is a TALENT that will be missed.

bettywhait06 I went to see this last night, and left feeling a little disappointed. It's based on true events as main character Neil McCormick and his brother Ivan attend the same school as Bono, with new bands setting up all the time. Bono, of course, goes on to world domination with U2, whilst the McCormick brothers are left desperately trying to seek the big time, whilst at the same time eating cold beans from a tin as their finances and fortunes dwindle away. The spine of the film, however, is that an as yet undiscovered Bono approaches Neil and tells him he would like his brother to join U2. Neil rejects the offer out of hand, but fails to tell Ivan, believing that their band will become bigger and better than U2. The scriptwriters were industry legends Dick Clement and Ian LaFrenais of Porridge, The Likely Lads and Auf Wiedersehen Pet but I was nervous when I saw their names because for my money they are much more suited to character driven 30 minute TV comedy, and their occasional forays into movies have been very hit and miss. They even tried the music-tensions-within-a-band premise a decade earlier with Still Crazy, although that was a decent enough film. The problem is that Killing Bono doesn't quite know where to go. It's billed as a comedy yet it isn't anywhere near funny enough, and too many of the 'laughs' seem staged and deliberate. And there is too much of a dark undercurrent running throughout - I feel the movie would have been better had it not been billed as a comedy and the production team let the bitterness and unfulfilled jealousies of McCormick come out without trying to play it for laughs. Fair enough, it's a good idea that every time he tries to succeed with his band Bono has seemingly got there first (the first big gig he secures just happens to clash with Live Aid!), but the hesitant mood of the movie means we quickly dislike McCormick as our main character - and a film where the lead fails to engage with the audience is very dangerous indeed. Martin McCann does a sterling job as a timid Bono, but as others will no doubt say, the movie had a golden opportunity to fill its soundtrack with an extensive U2 back catalogue which would have helped it along much more. It's likable in places, and the much missed Pete Postlethwaite dazzles in his final role (all the more poignant as he physically looks heartbreakingly ill), but this is no Commitments, which, of course, Clement and LaFrenais also scripted.

Elbe I really wanted to like this film, I really did, but in reality it was simply mediocre. However, it is worth saying that I went into this film not knowing anything about it, and most of the criticisms I formed whilst watching it were made before I found-out that the whole thing was actually based on a true story , which somehow absolves the film of a lot of its sins: The plot was long and meandering, yet bore an uncanny resemblance to the film "Rock Star" (Mark Wahlberg at his finest...?). The acting was questionable bar a great performance from Pete Postlethwaite as the lovable gay landlord. It really bothered me that the band's music (the McCormick Brothers +Shook-up) was actually really good up until their point of stardom when suddenly their musical style was transformed into something that sounded about as 80s as Fall Out Boy... I don't know how much of the soundtrack were original songs written by the band, but I'd be shocked if I found out that the song "Where we want to be" (for example) was an eighties classic. However, there are some criticisms that cannot be excused by the story's supposed authenticity and origins in fact... For example, the film didn't seem to know what it was, too funny to be taken seriously, too dramatic to be a comedy. Therefore many of the jokes were wasted. Despite my aspersions, it has to be said that the casting for the character of "Bono" was impeccable and that added dramatically to the quality of the film- grounding it in reality. Overall, I would say - Questionable acting - Brilliant Casting - A bit on the long side