kuuk3 Firstly, there are several sound problems left over from poor editing. A loud crackle at 7 minutes, echoed dialogue at 30 mins etc. These are caused by gaps and sync issues in the time-line of the editing software. They are short and don't interfere with the film, but it shows a lack of faith in the producers, editor and director that they cant even watch their own product before sending it to market. There are also moments when some dialogue is quiet so you turn the volume up, then it gets loud and you turn it down. Keep the remote nearby as you will be juggling the volume a lot. There is some English dubbing throughout but thats to be expected for a film not set in an English speaking country.The director is very ambitious. He knows how to position a camera to get artistic. Overhead shots of fights in the alley, crane shots and quiet long takes showing the bomber. It appears he has just come out of film school and this is his first passion project. How he got Ben Kinglsey onboard is the biggest question to ask. Even the cameras are a decent grade HD, better than some big budget blockbusters. I will say the colour is a little drowned out though. He also needs to learn to avoid pointing the camera at the sunlight from windows when doing interior shots. The acting is poor, and the script is cliché. The dialogue is tough to watch. Thankfully most of the film is focused on the silent bad guy, who holds your attention enough to keep you watching. Its short and the story is easy to follow. This is not however a bad film. It has lots of potential and is a learning experience for the crew especially. You can see them enhancing their CV credits while they pretend to be background police officers. If they watch back this film and learn from all their mistakes, they will be rewarded. As for us viewers, watching what is essentially a student film, its not something I can recommend mainly because of the constantly changing volume issue. I picked it up on bluray at the dollar store, so its not breaking the bank at least.

headhunter46 It starts with a mysterious man going about placing bombs in several places of Sri Lanka. He even has the intestinal fortitude to go to the police station, make a complaint of a lost wallet so they actually see his face, and plant a bomb in the toilet of the police station. Is he gutsy or just plain crazy? Well, stick around, we'll find out.He has some technological expertise because he calls using several cell phone and switches cards so they can't pin him down. And he calls and gives advance information to a young news reporter so all of his escapades are broadcast to the public. He wants some terrorists released from prison or the bombs will go off. When the police are reluctant to cooperate he tells them where to find the one in the police station. OOPS, now they know he is not joking.Suspense builds as we see the faces of the people close to the bombs on a bus and a train. We begin to identify with them, they are no longer just one of a thousand faces in a crowd. We are left wondering if he will blow them up if he is unable to free the terrorists. And we are quite certain they will probably just go about killing more innocents.There are of course problems getting the right people on line to arrange for the release of the prisoners, but eventually it happens and the bombing terrorists are loaded on a plane and sent on their way. I won't tell you how it all ends because that would totally destroy the plot of the movie.Early on I was guessing how it would end and I was right. Nothing like you might expect.If you need numerous explosions to entertain this might not appeal to you. But if you like suspense, and a bit of a chess game plot, this will keep you entertained.

cjevansaicp "A terrorist plants several bombs throughout the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka and threatens to detonate them unless prisoners are released."That's the brief synopsis of this movie. That, and the poster art for this movie would lead you to believe it is an action-packed thriller. It isn't. It is a c-grade movie from Sri Lanka made for the direct-to-DVD, American market. Sri Lanka isn't known for its film industry, at least in the United States. Considering that it isn't a terrible movie. It just isn't the quality American film goers expect when plunking down $4.99 to view it from the local cable company.I'm not going to discuss the plot except to say --- think Die Hard without the special effects, decent acting, or passable dialog. I selected this because Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross had the leads, surrounded by a cast of Sri Lankan filmmakers and actors. The Sri Lankan film industry is young and the money isn't there to employ the film techniques the U.S. film industry has invented and perfected. So A Common Man gets some forgiveness here. It's a decent attempt to cater to the U.S. market. But most of the U.S. Audience will be disappointed by its overly amateurish feel.In this first place, as a struggling (read: hopeful) screenwriter, I was not surprised by the formalistic plot. All principal characters, and a few irrelevant ones --- included, no doubt, to create drama and/or a layer of unpredictability --- are introduced during the first thirty minutes. Unfortunately, the middle --- the place where characters are developed, the plot rises to its dramatic peak, and the way out presented --- is largely absent. In very real terms the movie goes from Act I to Act III with a cup of coffee in between.The dialog was rudimentary. Well, really not very good. One scene that stands out is a discussion between the principal character, played by Academy Award Winner, Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and the tele-journalist, Dilky, played by Numaya Siriwardena, where Dikly is objecting to being used to facilitate the "crime" being perpetrated by Kingsley's character. A young journalist is being given the biggest story of her career and she is prattling on about the morality of it all. To top it off the dubbed dialog suffered from some very serious synchronization issues.The special effects were ... well ... not special. The camera work was a cross between a hand held wielded by someone with a neurological disorder and a stationary unit that did not permit Ben Cross from moving around apparently, to prevent him from walking out of the shot. The soundtrack was mediocre and frequently played over the actor's lines.The Sri Lankan actors were somewhat less-skilled than an introductory college theater class. Unfortunately, both Bens (Cross and Kingsley) sowed up, walked through their lines and left. Other reviewers on other sites have trashed these two fine actors for their somnambulistic performances. In reality, that's all that can be expected when two extraordinary actors are placed in the hands or a director who is very much less extraordinary and/or in a film with a paltry budget.Given all of this I still recommend this film. It is instructive not for the incompetence of the production crew --- for they are hardly that --- but because much can be learned from this early foray into the U.S. market by a foreign film industry in it's, by our standards, infancy.Recommendation: Watch but, with understanding eyes.

steve elder Without question, a new addition to IMDb's "Worst 10 of All Time." Not sure it would be possible to pen a more absurd script..........even far more challenging to collect a more untalented team of supporting actors....no, wait, the script is that horrible.......nothing could be worse.I can only imagine that Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross did the Sri Lanka Movie Industry a favor by agreeing to offer their talents. Unfortunately, if this is the best they can produce, Sri Lanka will NEVER again be able to lure any B-Actor (or C, D, E or F-Level actor for that matter) from Hollywood.I honestly feel that any high school's Performing Arts Department could have created a more interesting story, delivered the dialog better and given some semblance of acting and directing ability. "DON'T quit your day job" is the only advice I could give the people who produced "A Common Man."