Review

In a role befitting his larger-than-life screen presence, Neeson gives his best performance since Schindler's List playing another real-life character who overcomes odds to carve a niche for himself in history. Michael Collins is the passionate, remarkably detailed story of the Irish revolutionary who sought to seek Ireland's independence from British rule. Though comparisons could be made to 1995's Oscar winner Braveheart, this more contemporary tale utilizes both speech and action to convey the commitment of its battle-scarred hero. With the complex political issues of the formation of the Irish Republican Army at its core, the film traces the rise of Collins as a party official whose legend and determination led to brief peace and an Ireland which still exists today. An impressive achievement on all levels, Michael Collins is stirring as both history and cinema.