A Prayer for the Dying

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A Prayer for the Dying

R,

1987,

1h 46m,

Mystery & Thriller

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Watchlist

50%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

50%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Irish Republican Army member Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) rigs a bomb to destroy a British army convoy, but the plan goes wrong when the trucks allow a school bus to pass. Now, Fallon wants out. He's through killing for the cause, but in order to secure safe passage to the U.S., he'll have to take one more job: eliminating rival terrorist Krasko (Stanley Beard). Unfortunately, a priest (Bob Hoskins) complicates matters by witnessing the hit, but Fallon believes he knows how to keep him silent.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

1/4

A ludicrous movie about a subject that deserves more serious treatment.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 6, 2026

1/4

It's almost inexplicable how dull and sodden a melodrama "A Prayer for the Dying" -- about an IRA terrorist in London -- manages to be.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jul 15, 2023

1.5/4

So much of what’s wrong with it can be found in both the casting and the major narrative turns.

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Ángel Luis Inurria

El Pais (Spain)

Jun 22, 2020

Mickey Rourke's performance is key in buying the story, whose gestures and look are prolonged in his peculiar Irish intonation and accent. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Cathy Burke

United Press International

Oct 9, 2016

The good intentions seem frivolous and what starts out to be a study of a senseless violence in Northern Ireland ends in a senseless study of troubled personalities.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jul 3, 2005

2/5

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Poe S

Sep 14, 2018

A younger Mickey Rourke with a very good performance which could have been great if not for the sometimes dodgy Irish accent. A decent thriller with a good backstory about an IRA man who wants to get out but only to get pulled in for one last job (although maybe not entirely original). Solid cast but Liam Neeson could have been used more and Alan Bates felt a little too posh at times to be a ruthless London gangster. Also felt that the love interest between the Fallon and the blind priest's niece felt a little contrived. There is plenty of action and tension throughout the movie which is worth a watch although could be a bit shorter.

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Abraham S

Jul 8, 2017

Yes, it's very violent. But Alan Bates as more than a mortuary director, Mickey Rourke who wants out of murdering for the IRA, and Bob Hoskins as a Catholic priest who wants to save his soul are all excellent. The ending is worth watching the movie for.

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Harry W

Jun 19, 2008

The good intentions seem frivolous and what starts out to be a study of a senseless violence in Northern Ireland ends in a senseless study of troubled personalities.

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Mike Hodges

Director

Mickey Rourke

Martin Fallon

Bob Hoskins

Father Michael Da Costa

Alan Bates

Jack Meehan

Sammi Davis

Anna

Christopher Fulford

Billy Meehan

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Synopsis

Irish Republican Army member Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) rigs a bomb to destroy a British army convoy, but the plan goes wrong when the trucks allow a school bus to pass. Now, Fallon wants out. He's through killing for the cause, but in order to secure safe passage to the U.S., he'll have to take one more job: eliminating rival terrorist Krasko (Stanley Beard). Unfortunately, a priest (Bob Hoskins) complicates matters by witnessing the hit, but Fallon believes he knows how to keep him silent.

Director: Mike Hodges
Producer: Peter Snell, Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Screenwriter: Jack Higgins, Edmund Ward, Martin Lynch
Production Co: Eye Eye Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.4M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround

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