I am openly admitting that I follow a Ben Barnes fansite on twitter. I don't care. I think he's reasonably hot, I wanted info on his upcoming films. I'm not ashamed.
Owing to my following of said fansite (@benbarnesonline if you want to follow them too) I've known about Killing Bono for some time. The more I read about the fans who got to be extras in the film, behind the scenes stories etc the more I wanted to see it. Not just because Ben's in it and he's reasonably hot.
As the film wasn't showing at Cineworld (my cinema of choice due to my membership there), I convinced my cinema buddy, who handily has one of those Odeon Premiere Club Cards, to come to the Odeon and watch it with me. I wasn't sure it'd be his cup of tea but sure enough, being the kind person and good friend that he is, he agreed to accompany me to the film.
Killing Bono is based on the book 'Killing Bono: I was Bono's Doppelganger' by Neil McCormick. It's based on the true-ish story of Neil and Ivan McCormick who went to school with the members of U2, Bono, The Edge et al. Ivan (Sheehan) auditioned for a place in the band before they were U2 and would have gladly been snapped up by Bono if it hadn't been for older brother Neil (Barnes), who prevented this by telling Bono that Ivan would rather stay with him and form their own band. This was only a half truth as Ivan knew nothing of the offer and simply stayed with Neil because he thought he'd been unsuccessful at getting into U2.
The film follows Neil's attempts to match the success of U2 and shows how he always seems to distroy his own (and Ivan's) future.
I think this film was really well cast. All of the songs were ably performed by the cast members who played 'Shook Up' (the McCormick's band). I haven't heard the original recordings by the band but I'd wager that the cast versions improve a great deal on the originals. I also think the casting of Barnes in the lead role was a smart move as his character is not the most likable, but Barnes being his usual charismatic self puts his charm to good use and wins you over. I have no qualms with the rest of the cast, Sheehan in particular puts in an excellent performance, but then his is the much easier part to like as Ivan is the wronged party. It's sad to see the final performance of the much loved and missed Pete Postlethwaite but his fans can breathe a sigh of relief that his final film/role is a fine end to his career.
The only failing for me is Barnes' accent.* For the most part it was fine but there were moments it let him down. I felt the same when he attempted to be Spanish in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (which is why I assume the makers of the sequel 'forgot' his character was supposed to be Spanish?). This either means that Barnes has a hard time nailing accents or that his voice coaches aren't all that. Either way, it wasn't enough to ruin the film, just a little niggly for anyone who notices.
An enjoyable comedy filled with the stuff of rock legend. 7 out of 10.
*A late amendment to the review: I have just found out that Ben Barnes did not have a voice coach on this film - they couldn't afford one - so the accent was all his work and something he did for the entire shoot. This has made me re-think my harsh critique of his Irish accent. Sorry Ben. Though I still don't forgive Caspian! ;0)
Viewing Date - 7th April 2011
UK Release Date - 1st April 2011
Cast Overview:
Ben Barnes ~ Neil McCormick
Robert Sheehan ~ Ivan McCormick
Krysten Ritter ~ Gloria
Pete Postlethwaite ~ Karl
Justine Waddell ~ Danielle
Peter Serafinowicz ~ Hammond
Martin McCann ~ Bono
Director ~ Nick Hamm
Writer(s) ~ Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais and Simon Maxwell (Screenplay), Ben Bond (Additional Writing) and Neil McCormick (Novel)
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