john boorman 1998 the general be hail a a major comeback and though it hard to see why on the evidence of the film itself . one of three film make that year about famed northern irish criminal martin cahill ( alongside ordinary decent criminal and vicious circle ) and it have an abundance of incident and style ( the film be shoot in colour but release in b and w scope in some territory ) but make absolutely no impact and just go on forever . with a main character who threaten witness and car bomb doctor and cause a hundred people to lose their job and try to buy off the sexually abused daughter of one of his gang to keep out of jail and nail one of his own to a snooker table yet still remain a popular local legend an attractive enough personality for his wife to not only approve but actually suggest a ménage a trio with her sister and it need a charismatic central performance to sell the character and the film . it doesn not get it . instead and it lumber with what may well be brendan gleeson worst and most disinterested performance represent he deliver his line and stand in the right place but there nothing to suggest either a local hero or the inner working of a complex character . on the plus side and this help not to overglamorize a character who be nothing more than an egotistical thug and but it at odds with a script that seem to be expect u to love him and his antic . there a minor section that pick up interest when the ira whip up a local hate campaign against the general and his men and paint them a anti social drug dealer purely because cahill would not share his loot from a robbery with them and but it temporary resolution be so vaguely shot something to do with cahill don a balaclava and join the protester which be expect to find lovably cheeky that it just throw away . thing be more successful in the last third a the pressure mount and his army fall apart and but by then it too late to really care . adrian dunbar and maria doyle kennedy and the gorgeous angeline ball do good work in adore support role and but jon voight hammy garda beat cop seem to be there more for american sale than moral balance and overcompensate for gleeson comatose non involvement in what feel like a total misfire . come back zardoz and all be forgive .