Killing Bono

Killing Bono is the loosely based on true story of the McCormick brothers. I'm not well enough informed to know how much is true and, frankly, I don't care enough to find out, so I'll concentrate on what's in the film. The McCormick brothers, Neil (Ben Barnes) and Ivan (Robert Sheehan) went to school with the members of U2. Ivan had the opportunity to join U2, but Neil blocked this without telling him, preferring to have Ivan in his own band. As U2 become increasingly big and globally successful, Neil is driven by guilt and desparation to try and make it too.

As a film its an entertaining little yarn, with a smart script, some OK tunes and likeable leads. Barnes, in particular, shines, not only maintaining a fairly good accent, but bringing a degree of humanity and likeability to a character who is basically a self-delusional ass. There are a series of amusing cameos and bit parts, most notably from Pete Postlethwaite as the boy's landlord when they move to London. And the films rolls gently on - consistently amusing, but rarely outright funny. By the end, it feels overlong and over-familiar. The whole Irish gangster sub-plot feels rather unnecessary and only adds coarse stereotypes, coarser humour and gratuitous nudity. Credit then to the two leads for holding things together so well and for Martin McCann for making a pretty good Bono.

Overall - 6/10 Gently amusing, but overlong tale that feels like it should have been tighter and funnier.