Certainly the filmmakers rounded up the right cast of tough-guy actors for this story of mob activity, but their presence doesn't lend much vigor to this unfocused and sentimental tale.

The cast makes up for some occasionally spotty storytelling and telegraphing of events that keep "Irishman" from being as good as it could have been.

What makes this film special and memorable is the character of Danny Green, who is not the usual neighborhood hoodlum you see in movies, the kind who gets in deep and gradually loses his soul.

The action, suspense, and tone of the movie are as flat as Stevenson's inflectionless dialogue.