To Kill an Irishman

We've all seen "Kill the Irishman" before: a neighborhood tough guy claws his way to the top only to find he's his own worse enemy. All the ingredients are there. Sergio Leone's epic masterpiece "Once Upon a Time in America" brilliantly covers the same story. Even Brian DePalma did a better job with ethnic stereotypes in "Scarface" than writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh does in this tired old warhorse. Then there's the acting. Other than "Waking the Dead," I'm not familiar with Ray Stevenson's work. Judging by his role in "Kill the Irishman," he's very good at playing ruthless, delusional killers who occasionally recalls his sensitive side. At times he electrifies the screen with his viciousness. Whether or not that qualifies as "acting" is debatable. Walken deadpans and mumbles his lines like he's sleepwalking. Vincent D'Onofrio reprises his role as Robert Goren in the final episodes of "Criminal Intent." Nothing dynamic there. Linda Cardellini and Laura Ramsey do the best they can with characters who are basically one- dimensional window dressing. Fionnula Flanagan is totally dispensable as the Irish, hard-drinking, working-class broad with a heart of gold and a brogue to beat McNamara's band- Mother McCree! And let's not forget the food-loving, Italian mobsters who order a hit as casually as a plate of osso bucco. I think a better name for this mess would have been "Kill 106 Minutes." Watch Cagney in 1931's "Public Enemy" instead.