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IRAの特殊工作員フランシス(ブラッド・ピット)は、ローリーという偽名を用いてニューヨークへ潜入し、彼の正体を知らない警官トム(ハリソン・フォード)ファミリーの家に下宿することになる。純朴な青年を装うフランシスは、やがてイギリス軍へのミサイル攻撃を実行すべく、マフィアからの武器調達に奔走するが…。
共にアイルランドの出身ながら、かたや正義感の強い警官、かたや悪魔のようなテロリストと、明暗を分けてしまった男同士の緊迫感みなぎる闘いを、2大人気スターの競演で描いたサスペンス・アクション巨編で、監督は社会派のベテラン、アラン・J・パクラ。ただし、両者の魅力がうまく噛み合っているかと問われると、今一つの感も残る出来栄えではある。(的田也寸志)
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Any movie starring Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford has got to be worth seeing, right? That's as close to a guarantee as this well-meaning thriller ever gets, however, and the talents of Pitt and Ford are absolutely vital in making any sense out of this dramatically muddled scenario. Ostensibly the movie's about an IRA terrorist (Pitt) who escapes from British troops in Belfast and travels to New York City, where he stays in the home of a seasoned cop (Ford) who has no idea of the terrorist's true identity. (Why a veteran cop would host a complete stranger in his home is one of those shaky details you're better off not thinking about.) But while Pitt's passionate character waits to make an arms deal for his IRA compatriots back in Ireland,
The Devil's Own conveniently avoids any detailed understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict, focusing instead on the cop's moral dilemma when he discovers that his young guest is a terrorist. The film is superbly acted, and overall it's quite worthwhile, but don't look to it for an abundance of plot logic or an in-depth understanding of Protestant-Catholic tensions in Northern Ireland. (For that, take a look at
In the Name of the Father or the underrated historical biopic
Michael Collins.)
--Jeff Shannon.