By Richard Winters
My Rating: 2 out of 10
4-Word Review: Mismatched cops fight pushers.
Nick (Robert Carradine) is a renegade cop who plays by his own rules and uses unorthodox ways to not only nab the bad guys but also getting them to confess. He gets matched up with Frank (Billy Dee Williams) who’s more on the cultured side and enjoys the company of beautiful women. They are assigned to transport a known snitch named Boudreau (Alex Rebar) so that he can help the cops identify dangerous drug dealers, but before he can give any names he gets killed forcing the two to use their local leads to get them inside information as to who the hit man was and who ordered it.
Initially I thought this was a rip-off of Lethal Weapon as it has the same basic storyline and set-up and since it was produced by the Cannon Group, whose output of movies were never that original anyways, it seemed to make sense, but to my shock this one actually was filmed first, in April-May of 1986, while the other one was shot in the fall of ’86. Either way it’s basically the same thing though the one with Mel Gibson/Danny Glover fares a bit better.
The main complaint here is the over-the-top nuttiness of the Carradine character, that was originally meant to be played by James Belushi who might’ve been better. It’s not so much that Carradine gives a bad performance, he actually does okay for what’s asked, but as a protagonist I really couldn’t stand the guy. I didn’t see him as a ‘hero’ but more of a problem. His interrogation of the suspects is just plain ridiculous and at one point hangs a guy upside down from a tall building and then just leaves him there. I realize with Dirty Harry it made cops who do these things seem ‘cool’, but in reality, it would and should get them into a lot of trouble and the fact that he’s constantly able to get away with it with almost no consequence except some minor exacerbation from their superior, played by Peter Graves, just makes the thing even more absurd. The truth is if these suspects got a good lawyer than all the information that they stated while being tortured would’ve been thrown out since it was under extreme duress when they gave it, so then Carradine’s ‘tough guy’ efforts would’ve become more of a detriment and not a solution as it gets portrayed here.
Aside from this he’s also just a complete jerk especially with the way he treats he’s so-called friend and buddy Williams. For instance, when they’re up in a plane, Williams tries to meditate since he has a fear of flying, but instead of showing him any sympathy Carradine just makes a joke out of it. He also ruins one of his potential dates by insinuating to the lady that Williams was gay, which makes you wonder with friends like these who needs enemies. Carradine’s relationship with his ex, played by Valerie Bertanelli, is creepy too. He comes off more like a stalker who can’t move on and in need of a restraining order to keep him away.
What tops it off even more is the blandness of the bad guys as they all take the term cliche to new heights. The stereotypes are so strong here it becomes literally cartoonish and almost like an unintended parody. They acted and looked the same. Each new one they came upon seemed just like the last one and I ended up not caring whether they ever were able to bring in the kingpin or not and the tired, overused scenario just gets more irrelevant and boring as it goes on.
I did feel that Billy Dee Williams was fantastic and likable and had the movie just been centered around him, without the stupid ‘psycho’ sidekick, I probably would’ve enjoyed this better. He gets horribly underused as Carradine is given most of the screentime when it should’ve been in reverse. The jazz score is good too, but other than that there’s nothing to recommend. It’s just another B-rate 80’s cop comedy/drama that adds nothing to what was already a tired formula.
My Rating: 2 out of 10
Released: February 27, 1987
Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
Rated R
Director: Jack Smight
Studio: The Cannon Group
Available: DVD, Blu-ray, Tubi
Scopophilia 