User reviews

Completely (and rather unjustly) forgotten today, this is an offbeat, interesting dramatic thriller based on a book that seems to lift its basic idea from Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess" (actually, I haven't seen "I Confess" yet, but everybody knows its premise). The movie has a great cast and makes an earnest attempt to combine psychodrama with more traditional thriller elements. The main problem is that, once the basic situation has been (elaborately) set up, the story seems to get stalled and has nowhere to go. There is also a subplot, involving Liam Neeson in an early role as Mickey Rourke's old comrade in the IRA, that's ultimately just a waste of time. (**)

Already a quarter century has passed since A Prayer for the Dying was first released, and I don't think age has been kind to either Mickey's character portrayal of an IRA bomber named Martin Fallon, nor to the films story line. I believe Mickey Rourke to be a fine actor whose body of work has been solid decade by decade. He is an actor that I look forward to seeing what he plans to do next. I just don't think this particular screen play was very realistic, so first rate actors such as Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, Liam Neeson and Alison Doody who had thought they had ordered top grade steak were served ground beef instead for the screenplay.

The movie is about Martin Fallon a cold hearted IRA bomber who hangs up his TNT after accidentally blowing up a school bus of children which was intended for another IRA target. Of course Martin Fallon is forced to come out of retirement for just one last hit which he completes for another mobster appropriately at a cemetery. Unfortunately Martin fails to see the priest Father Michael Da Costa who witnesses his assassination. The priest is played by the very versatile actor Bob Hoskins.

Yes, there was a steady stream of IRA villains planning other hits, the London Bobby's were continually chasing after the elusive IRA bomber Martin Fallon, the Irish mob wanting their own way, and the film even had a blind damsel in distress named Anna played by Sammi Davis who Martin Fallon falls in love with.

Even with all this potential, and actors of the highest caliber, the film lacked any depth of true characters or continuous suspense. Instead, I felt the movie just plodded on through out and left me half way through the film expecting little more to come of it other than a disappointing ending which was the case.

I give the film a rare 5 out of 10 only on the strength of Mickey Rourke and Bob Hoskins, otherwise my rating would have been even lower.

A Prayer For The Dying is a melodramatic romantic action thriller following IRA assassin Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke), a man with a brutal path in life whose long buried conscience surfaces after an explosives mission goes awry, resulting in the death of schoolchildren aboard a bus. It's a bold scene to start a film with, and in every instance after it Fallon has a haunted frenzy about him, clearly damaged by what he did and saw. As if that weren't enough, he now finds himself compelled to murder a priest (Bob Hoskins) who witnessed one of his militant crimes. Fallon spends a lot of time hesitating, and in that hesitation he strikes up a romance with the Hoskins's blind daughter (Sammi Davis), finding sanctuary and a modicum of redemption with the two of them. A lot of nasty people from his past are looking for him though, including his amoral former partner (Liam Neeson), an evil British crime kingpin (the great Alan Bates) and the kingpin's murderous brat of a son (Christopher Fulford). Obligatory shootouts, personal and religious angst, sappy sentiment and dodgy accents, particularly from Rourke, ensue. He can blend into a lot of roles and pull off a lot of different characters, but it seems an Irish accent is a stretch, and it shows. As the character of Fallon himself, ethnicity aside, he does a bang up job though. Bates is razor focused in playing anyone, and his villain here is a spidery creepo. Neeson is young and doesn't get much to do except hassle Rourke, but their confrontations are nicely done by both parties. Director Mike Hodges, whose other work I've never really seen, seems to like slow and deliberate action scenes, very old world and sometimes repetitive, but entertaining nonetheless. Not the best IRA thriller out there (most of the events here have little to do with the movement anyway, and focus more on Fallon), but a decent way to spend a couple hours.

Gotta admit, I'm on a Mickey Rourke run, having just seen Angel Heart, Barfly, and Francesco. A Prayer for the Dying is a wonderful piece of work -teriffic acting by all, including Bates, Hoskins, etc. Mickey Rourke has to be one of the most under-rated actors in the industry. His "bad-boy" image hasn't helped, as it has helped other actors who fall into the same category. He reminds me a lot of Steve McQueen -subtle, intense, controlled acting, but when the action is needed he delivers. I sincerely hope he has a comeback sometime soon. In the meantime, run to your nearest video store and rent this great film. There are some incredible moments that I won't forget anytime soon. This story has been told before: bad guy trying to get away from the badness. . . but Rourke makes is all new, by adding his own unique charism. See it.

Harsh crime drama deals with a lonely IRA hit-man named Fallon (Mickey Rourke )sickened by the murder along with his partner (Liam Neeson) of innocent people in Northern Ireland . He is on the run but has to complete one last assignment , when happens to be witnessed by a priest (Bob Hopkins ) who becomes an unwitting associate when the killer hides out at the church . The execution is duly carried out , triggering off the rest of argument. Fallon long to quit , is a man with nowhere to run . He has come to London where is pursued by the Ira (Alison Doody) ,the police and a mobster (Alan Bates )and his brother (Christopher Fulfold) . Meanwhile the hit-man falls in love with the priest's blind niece (Sammi Davis).

This is a dramatic film , well paced , often interesting and never boring ; it's plenty of action , thrills, suspense , a love story and quite entertaining . This picture further afield both in terms of location and theme have not led to the full realization of his potential . Actors make a great job , Rourke sporting a decent Irish character , over-the-top Hopkins in a worthy role and fine performances from Alan Bates and Christopher Fulford as underworld kingpins. Very secondary acting of Anthony Head , subsequently famous as the teacher in Buffy Vampire slayer and Sammi Davis screen debut . The atmosphere is splendidly captured in steely color photography. Very good musical score by Bill Conti who composes a sensible and evocative soundtrack , much better than his Rocky saga . The drama that surrounded this film is all of interest and rarely tiring but small beer at box-office , then Hodges came to a grinding halt for some years . Furthermore , Mike Hodges and Mickey Rourke were not satisfied with terminated movie .

The motion picture is professionally realized by British director Mike Hodges of extraordinarily varied experience . After successful direction for TV thrillers , he encouraged to try for the big screen. He looked set for a solid career in urban drama after the success of his first movie ¨Get Carter¨ . He subsequently realized flops as the comedy ¨Pulp¨ and Sci-Fi as ¨The terminal man¨ and a lunatic farce as ¨Morons from outer space ¨. ¨Flash Gordon¨was his contribution to the big budget super-film until ¨The prayer for the dying¨ with action scenes are sharply , toughly staged , but achieved a limited success ; however being nowadays better deemed. Rating : Good 6,5 . The film will appeal to Mickey Rourke fans and thriller buffs .

I have must recognized this time Mickey Rourke made his best performance as leading role ever, however is Alan Bates who bright, his character is absolutely ambiguous, sometimes friendly and soft spoken, sometimes cold and evil, Rourke plays Martin Fallon a regretful IRA's hit man, when he kills mistakenly a dozen kids's school on the road, cornered by own conscience he decides to stop killing, although he is pursued by the London's mobster Jack Meehan (Alan Bates) to do a last job, he accepts and did over a Priest's eyes as witness (Bob Hoskins), wisely he makes a confess to this same priest believing in sacrosanct secrecy, thus he fell safe from the police inquires, a underrated picture from the eighties, maybe explained by so contrived finale at church, which l'd totally agreed, therefore the Bates's character was colorful, he lifts the movie to another level, amplifying the meaning of the gangster, also has the younger Liam Neeson on a small role, robust and valuable British production!!

Resume:

First watch: 1994 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD/ Rating: 7.75

A Prayer For The Dying is one of those films which had the ambitions to be well made film like many classic, but it falls on it face.

It read stories that the film was re-edited behind the directors back and both Mike Hodges and Mickey Rourke have disowned the theatrical release. This is problem with the film, producers don't make good editors. There are some scenes which doesn't gel, and also the Bill Conti music is too melodramatic. Originally Mike Hodges hired John Scott too compose the soundtrack, then Samuel Goldwyn Jr didn't like it and got in Conti.

I read that Mickey Rourke's Irish accent was badly criticized by critics. I actuality thought that Rourke accent was convincing enough and also he is an Irish-American. Rourke is one most under estimated actors around.

Alan Bates is good as the Meehan, Bob Hoskins is reasonable as Costa even though at times he looks like he going to explode as a cockney gangster.

According to Mike Hodges there is his cut of the film and that MGM own the rights and that there were going to release film on DVD in its correct form.

I would like to see that happen as I said earlier it's an ambitious film along with Get Carter, but whereas Get Carter is a classic, A.P.F.D. falls on it face, because of people who meddled with the film not knowing what they are doing.

Fine character portrayals by Rourke, Hoskins, Davis and Bates. If you don't generally think highly of him, don't be put off by Rourke starring; he shines in this ensemble piece . If you only think of Hoskins as a humorous figure, see this movie for a new perspective.

The plot is dark; the pace, at times, deliberate, but it maintains its intensity well, for most of the film, through to its satisfying, if somewhat abrupt, conclusion.

Recommended.

Oh how wrong could I be... It was completely unbelievable,poorly acted and the villains resembled The Driscoll Brothers from Fools and Horses. I wasn't sure if it was a comedy or just a terrible unconvincing storyline ... Still as they say my loss is your gain... As you will now be able to avoid this waste of two hours precious time ,which I didn't.

It is a mystery for me how the great movies sometimes fall through the cracks. I don't expect it to be everyone's favorite but being completely missed by almost everybody? It puzzles me. If you up for a tough and disturbing movie tonight rent it. You won't be disappointed.

In my opinion Mickey Rourke's third best movie, the first being "Angel Heart" and the second being "Year of the Dragon".

Rourke teamed up with Mike Hodges the director of such classics as "Get Carter" and the more recent "Croupier" in April of 1986 in London.

The whole movie was filmed on location in London, the Irish scenes at the beginning were filmed probably in Herts. The actual church is in Canning in London, near the ill fated Millennium Dome and still stands today. It wasn't being used as a church at the time, and the roof damage was real due to a bombing in the second world war. The church still stands and is currently used as a community centre.

Rourke plays Martin Fallon an IRA terrorist with a heart who recently bombed a school bus by accident and fled to London to evade the IRA and start again. He is taken on by local kingpin Jack Meehan played by a very camp Alan Bates whom has a day job of a funeral director and by night a nasty villain who wants Fallon to do one last job and he will pay him well and give him a passport and ticket to the US.

The mark Fallon is to kill is another local kingpin whom Meehan wants dead so he can take over his drug business. The mark he has to kill always visits his mother in a local church where Fallon shoots him, but is seen by Father Da Costa played very well by Bob Hoskins. Da Costa won't co-operate with the police after hearing Fallon's confession and the whole movie then is based around Jack Meehan trying to kill Fallon and the Da Costa.

Rourke's accent is spot on, maybe not to a true Irishman, but certainly to most it is very good, and his acting is on top form.

Hoskins is believable and carries of being a vicar fairly well, and the script also tells he is an ex army officer which gives him a bit of reason to be little rough on some of the villains.

Look out for a young Anthony Head (from Buffy) and a blind Sammi Davis whom was very popular in a lot of Ken Russell movies from the early 90's.

In this adaptation of a Jack Higgins novel, a hilariously miscast Mickey Rourke is Martin Fallon, an Irish terrorist who experiences a change of heart after the accidental bombing of a bus full of young children. He vows, "no more killing". Then, flamboyant mobster / funeral director Jack Meehan (Alan Bates) and his flunkies convince Fallon to do that "one last job". The problem is, Fallon assassinates his target only to be witnessed by a priest, Michael Da Costa (Bob Hoskins). And this time, Fallon sticks to his word about no more killing, and lets the priest live. This just creates problems for everybody involved. Meanwhile, Fallons' old IRA crony, Liam Docherty (Liam Neeson), determinedly tracks him down, for the purpose of either bringing Fallon back to the fold, or killing *him*.

Although the distributor, Samuel Goldwyn, did the film no favors by trying to turn it into a typical action film, the material is still compelling, deriving most of its effectiveness from the relationship between the haunted, regretful former terrorist and the priest. Da Costa is, for a while, sick and tired of Fallon always hanging around his church (Fallon is sweet on the holy mans' innocent, blind niece (Sammi Davis)). But the holy man (who realizes that, with his past, he's not that dissimilar to Fallon) and his sense of compassion compel him to try to save Fallons' soul.

Hoskins is fine in support, with Bates relishing a chance to chew on the scenery, and Christopher Fulford similarly stealing the show as Meehans' creepy, hot-headed younger brother Billy. In addition to Davis, other gorgeous ladies are nicely showcased: Camille Coduri and Alison Doody. Rourkes' performance is passable, while his attempt at an Irish accent is definitely NOT. He sounds like he's warning the rest of the cast to keep their hands off his Lucky Charms.

All in all, *I* thought this was actually pretty entertaining, although it *would* be interesting to see a version closer to what director Mike Hodges & Rourke intended.

Seven out of 10.

Jack Higgins' straightforward thriller about a guilt-ridden IRA bomber forced into "one last job" (where have I heard that plot before?) gets a snarky treatment from cult director Mike Hodges. Mickey Rourke, with alarming red hair, confesses all to the priest (Bob Hoskins, of all people) who accidentally witnessed the shooting. The rules of the church keep Father Bob from talking, but then Rourke goes and falls in love with the priest's blind niece. They bond at the church organ. What? Really, that's the plot. Alan Bates is around as the top dog mobster who's calling the shots (literally) and he seems to be the only actor who's on to the jokey tone Hodges is aiming at. Bates is all set to do a sort of U.K. PRIZZI'S HONOR, but no one else, including an effortlessly charismatic Liam Neeson in a supporting role, has been informed.

Mickey Rourke is a much deeper and more dedicated actor than he gets credit for. His accent in " A Prayer.." is spot on and that is quite an accomplishment that takes months of dedication. He takes his place up in the front row with Gary Oldman, Pete Postlewaithe (sp.?) and I even have to include Brad Pitt after his amazing performance in Snatch. Rourke's Bad Boy image makes the moral dilemma he creates for himself or finds himself in even more effective. Brilliant scene when Hoskins becomes increasingly irate and at the peak of his fury we see him from Rourke's POV and his dark outline eclipses the first few letters of a "Courage" beer sign and only the flashing red neon letters RAGE remain.

I'd first seen this movie perhaps a year or so after it was theatrically released via a home video rental. My interest back then in seeing it was focused mostly on Mickey Rourke as the lead. I recall that I thought back then in 1988 A Prayer For The Dying wasn't a great movie but was a film I certainly didn't dislike.

Watching it recently in 2022 for the first time in more than a few years, I'd say my opinion on the film has more than somewhat diminished.

The downgrading of my estimation doesn't have to do with the subject matter or the general terms of the plot, which concerns an Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassin on the run. That subject matter did cause a lot of people back in the 1980's to disparage the film before it was even released, perhaps understandably so to a degree: whatever one thought of the IRA pertaining to the righteousness of cause, the tactics the IRA used via bombing public places/persons/buildings were brutal and elicited repulsion. These emotional factors didn't inhibit my ability to view the movie fairly. I didn't have a political stance, pro or con, toward the IRA.

I would say that upon the recent viewing I do find there are elements of the film that had the potential to produce a more compelling movie than what eventually was released. The subject matter itself was certainly unique re: the IRA assassin angle. In addition, the film had a lot of very capable actors in addition to Rourke by way of Bob Hoskins, Alan Bates, Liam Neeson and Sammi Davis. It's a very British film due to the settings (mostly taking place in London) and characters. Rourke plays the IRA assassin convincingly enough in that his Irish accent and mannerisms are passable. The plot has a lot of components and different threads of the story, from the IRA assassin to a priest to a London crime boss to some IRA operatives searching for the assassin to a prostitute employed by the London crime boss to a niece of the priest the assassin befriends...whew! A lot for the viewer to keep track of, to say the least.

I've never read the book the movie was based on, but another feeling I had with my recent viewing was that this story was complex enough to the point where it would have been better served as a novel and was probably ill-suited as a subject of a film from the get-go. Simply put, there are 4 subplots and upwards of a dozen primary characters one has to keep track of. In that respect, the editing of the film keeps jumping around from those 4 subplots and dozen characters throughout the movie. It's not confusing so much as it is needlessly jumbled which tends to blunt the dramatic effect. The subplot involving Liam Neeson and his female cohort could have been left on the cutting room floor since ultimately those two characters have no impact upon the main thrust of events.

All of that to one side, the ultimate reason I downgraded A Prayer For The Dying has to do with numerous situational plot holes resulting in the viewer constantly wondering why any given character is making the choices they are making when a different, more realistic choice would provide the result they are seeking with more ease and less chance of something happening to derail their desired result. Being that this is a 35-year-old movie, I'm not too worried about giving too much away and therefore can ask the following questions in this review (none of which will give away the conclusion of the movie):

Would an IRA bomber wait until just before a military convoy he desires to blow up passes by to put his bomb into place, doing so in broad daylight? Would he set the bomb on a timer with barely enough time made to get clear from the blast site? Wouldn't he rather detonate the bomb remotely? Would it be necessary for said bomber to be observed by two IRA cohorts from a couple hundred yards away? Wouldn't it make more sense for just one IRA member to place the bomb and detonate it remotely?

If a London crime boss is looking to murder a rival London crime boss, surely for purposes of avoiding detection it would be unwise to contract an IRA assassin on the run to perform the crime. Does the London crime boss not have anybody in his employ he can use to perform the murder? Why subcontract it out to an IRA assassin being chased by the London police, Scotland Yard and Interpol? Even if opting to go with the IRA assassin, if the plan was to then assassinate the assassin why put said assassin up in your brothel for a week and allow him to wander around London?

If you are said IRA assassin and you kill said London crime boss, why not just stay at the brothel until you make your escape? Why hang around and continually visit the area adjacent to the murder scene, running the risk of being caught by the police?

I won't belabor the point re: plot holes other than to say what I mentioned were only a few of the many in the movie. In addition, the viewer is clearly supposed to feel some sympathy or empathy for Rourke's IRA assassin because he claims to have seen enough killing, yet even after constantly saying so he continues to either physically assault or murder people when not trying to seduce the young, naive and blind niece of a priest.

A Prayer For The Dying is overall a rather unsatisfying attempt to fuse political and religious themes for dramatic purposes, unrealistic in terms of the actions happening onscreen, emotionally downtrodden, bleak and despite the serious nature of the subjects in real life terms the movie uses those elements in very silly ways to tell a pointless story. 3 stars for the acting and the brave nature of the ending.

For a film with such stars as mickey rourke, Liam Neeson and Bob hoskins this film is extremely slow. The story revolves around an ira member wanting out but not much really happens. Would've expected a lot more action and tension but sadly its absent. On a plus mickey rourkes Irish accent wasn't too bad.

I won't bore any readers by repeating the plot line, since several others already have.

I bought the DVD after renting this movie, so I can enjoy Mickey Rourke's performance many times. It is wonderful, very different from what he has played before, and his Irish accent is just right-quite a pleasure to hear it.

I enjoyed the movie altogether, but Rourke's performance made it stand out totally-without it it would have been just another action/suspense movie. However, the blind girl's acting was unnatural and contrived a bit.

Superb. Thought-provoking. Gritty. A very rare find.

A kind of restrained action movie shot in a manner of "Black Eagle" with a very deep psychological implication. Very thankful to our TV that it aired this film once. Otherwise would never know such intense action film even existed. The final scene is, probably, the best psychological scene to ever appear in an action flick. No spoilers here, because you should see it.

It helps to feel the futility of down-to-earth existence and the power of salvation, which is so near and so simple but at the same time cannot be obtained so easily. Blood and tears, crying and praying.

An excellent cast must be mentioned. For instance, Mr Arnold would have demolished this subtle picture.

A significant picture of the 20th century cinema - one of those movies, which make me respect American film industry. The highest achievement in the genre "action/drama". Should be mentioned together with the best titles by John Woo.

10 out of 10. Thank you for attention.