I love trashy action movies. James Glickenhaus was a master at creating violent schlock, and it's a pity that he's stopped making movies. It's even more of a pity that movies like the above aren't made anymore. So I was over the moon when I saw that it was finally coming to Blu-Ray. This movie has been impossible to find, and I think it was probably 1992 or so (when I worked in the video store) since I've seen it.In another thread, Cail wrote:Much like the Glickenhaus masterpieces: (Sam Elliott's Shakedown, Ken Wahl's The Soldier, Scott Glenn's Slaughter of the Innocents, and Chris Walken's McBain), movies like this defy logic and common sense.
Prior to the film, there's a brief introduction from Glickenhaus himself, who states that this is his favorite of his films. And then, for clarity says, "they just don't make movies like this anymore".
No they don't, and that's a damn shame. What follows is a gloriously ridiculous, pre-CGI action-fest with a fantastic B-movie cast. Sam Elliott is the hard-drinking cop. Peter Weller is the bright-eyed public defender who's representing Richard Brooks as a drug dealer.
This was the era of over-the-top actioneers, when movies were produced with mountains of cocaine. Weller in particular looks like he's constantly trying not to spontaneously combust. Characters do things that don't make sense. The main plot is paper-thin, the romantic subplot is just bizarre.
Sam Elliott has made a career of playing Sam Elliott, and he does so here to perfection. The entire rest of the cast chews scenery relentlessly, as apparently cocaine makes you ravenously hungry.
Have a cocktail, put this sucker in, and prepare to be transported back to 1988....with all the silliness and awesomeness that entails.