Retro Review: The Bone Collector (1999)

The Bone Collector
1999
Cast: Denzil Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Luis Guzman, Leland Orser, Ed O'Neil 
Genre: Crime Thriller 
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $151 million

Plot: A quadriplegic ex-homicide detective and his partner track down a serial killer who is terrorizing New York City

'Sweet Little (Murder) Mystery'

Based on the novel by Jeffrey Deaver, The Bone Collector follows Lincoln Rhyme: a paraplegic forensic specialist, an NYPD homicide investigator and a team of police officers that include beat-patrol rookie cop Amelia (Angelina Jolie) and Paulie (Ed O'Neil) in their hunt and capture of a serial killer, after a string of mysterious murders in and around New York crop up.  

With a slow-moving plot, the film managed to keep me glued and engaged to the suspense that it had me on the edge of my seat despite the unravelling of the serial killer, which might have thrown a lot of people off. But it made the story even more intense and entertaining to watch. The more the film went on, the more I got into the plot, as you and I wondered what might happen next. Both Denzel and Angelina gave impressive turns in their roles, Lincoln and Amelia as we see in action two performers, way before they reached mega-stardom, looking assured as they carried this movie from beginning to end.

One of Angelina Jolie's earlier performances on the big screen, she was relatively unknown at this time, it is also one of her most impressive; as Amelia, she is given a lot to do and plays a significant role in the story, and whilst Denzel is bed-bound 99% of the time in this film, as Lincoln he still manages to dig deep and aid Amelia. Given that he spends so much time unable to move about, he has to rely a lot on his nurse, Thelma (Queen Latifah) and Amelia. This plot device enabled the film to be better and feel not as conventional as other serial killer-based crime thrillers.  

It's not as graphically shocking nor exceedingly violent as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, although The Bone Collector appears to be going for the typical movie-going audience demographic, given the strength of the main leads; the headline double act in Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie illicit good chemistry and they came across as believable and convincing as their characters. To this day, it still holds up well. Phillip Noyce (responsible for the Patriot Games & Clear and Present Danger, and lest we can forget, The Saint and the sleaze fest, Sliver) might have stated he wasn't a fan of this movie and felt as if he was part of an assembly line of 1990s psychological thrillers. 

The Bone Collector has become one of my favourite thrillers that doubles up as a reasonably tense, solid and satisfying cat-and-mouse murder mystery with insightful characters, an impressive cast, and a somewhat convincing villain to boot. It works thanks to the kills, surprising plot twists and gripping tension. It needed real panic and urgency, and the kills, which, whilst they were all right, required to have been more gory and gruesome. I was also a little baffled by the killer's motivations after his identity was revealed; it resulted in more questions than answers. 

Final Verdict:

The 1990s was an interesting period for film, especially for thrillers and they were all the rage; lots of great ones, some not-so-good ones, and some films that flew under the radar and went unnoticed. Whilst The Bone Collector is no masterpiece and is also cliched, it is a different spin on the serial killer concept, further elevated by Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington.

Overall:

Retro Review: Shaft (2000)

Shaft

2000

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa L. Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Toni Collette, Busta Rhymes, Mekhi Pfifer, Dan Hedaya, Richard Roundtree 

Genre: Action Crime Thriller

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $107 million

Plot: The nephew of John Shaft, the original 1970s detective, goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon, is brought to justice after a racially motivated murder 

'What Is an Enjoyable & Standard Affair That Should Have Been Way Better? (Shaft!)'

Just to be sure: this isn't a remake of Shaft, nor a prequel to the 1970's Shaft, but a different type of Shaft character... he is the nephew of Uncle John Shaft. They share the same first name, but Samuel L. Jackson's Shaft is not his take on the original Shaft character.

Here, John Shaft (Jr) is an NYPD cop who is investigating a racially motivated murder wherein a young Black man named Trey, was fatally killed by a rich White yuppie, Walter Wade Jr., played by Christian Bale (years before he (Bale) took on the mantle of Bruce Wayne & Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman films). Shaft quits the NYPD and 2 years later, he is now a narcotics cop/agent with leader & partner, Carmen Vasquez (Vanessa L. Williams) at the helm. When Wade gets released years later, he and a Dominican drug lord, Peoples go out of their way to kill the eyewitness, Trey's date, Ivy (Toni Collete). 

In John Singleton's original script, Richard Roundtree would have played a more pivotal role, teaming up with a younger, newer generation to fight social and racial injustice. Yet neither the studios nor Shaft's producer agreed. Reportedly, Samuel L.Jackson & Singleton disagreed during the shooting & they had clashed with producer Scott Rudin & screenwriter Richard Price during the filmmaking process. 

For someone who never saw the original nor was familiar with the Richard Roundtree-led Blaxploitation hit, John Singleton's Shaft was enjoyable, if not mind-blowing. 

I thought the supporting cast did well with the marginally weak script and lent themselves well as their characters: Vanessa L. Williams and Toni Collette were decent, although it was a little odd to see that Williams' character is Latina, and Williams herself is African-American, and Jeffery Wright's surprising turn as the flamboyant Spanish-speaking People's was one of the highlights (I was interested to learn he is part-Latino in real-life), whereas rapper Busta Rhymes, you can either give or take his cameo as Rasaan. Bale's turn as the smug Walter was a follow-up to his breakout role in American Psycho and here, he dials up the nastiness and bravado to a tee.

Yet the film's flaws lie in the lack of character development: the story itself is very routine, one-note and by-the-numbers, which doesn't offer many surprises, but for the two corrupt and not-so-smart cops. It does well with what it has to work with, but this in itself lies in the film biting off more than it can chew.  

Final Verdict:

Regardless, that same story was easy to follow all the way through, the casting worked & the team-up of John Singleton and Samuel L. Jackson was interesting. Other than that, as mentioned, I found 2000's Shaft enjoyable, but it didn't offer more for it to deserve a 9 or 10 out of 10 for me.  

I just wished the story was a little scrappier and were a bit feistier for an R-rated, 18-rated crime thriller; Shaft plays things all too safe and Singleton allows whatever issues that are supposed to be deep and serious to be resolved, in a very simplistic and watered down way. 

It got a mixed reception, yes - subjectively speaking, Shaft isn't great, but I still enjoyed it. 

Overall:

Retro Review: Tequilla Sunrise (1988)

Tequila Sunrise

1988

Cast: Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh 

Genre: Romantic Crime Thriller

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $41 million

Plot: A former L.A. drug dealer tries to go straight but his past and his underworld connections bring him into the focus of the DEA, the Mexican Feds and Mexican drug cartels 

'Tequila Sunrise's Flacid Approach Wastes Main 3's Talent'

When I was younger, I saw the poster for Tequilla Sunrise, read the plot and thought to myself: 'this sounds 'meh'. Seeing this in full for the first time as a 40-year-old today, thoughts, as I sat through it, were 'meh' and dreary. I'm not going to great detail into what it is, as the film bored the hell out of me, but to cut a long story short, it is basically a love triangle tale involving a drug dealer, his former childhood friend who is now a cop, and a waitress of whom the cop and drug dealer both fall for. 

Interesting that one of the TV ads features a young Matt Le Blanc who played Joey in the sitcom, Friends and has the young actor, Gabriel Damon played a bespeckled kid; Gabriel later appeared in Robocop 2, 2 years after the release of this film. 

At almost 2 hrs long this seems excessive and the story drags; to have three established & acting pedigree of stars (and then hottest A-listers) of the 1980s and 1990s cinema wallowing in what is a heavily dialogue-driven film, isn't a problem; the problem being that besides the romantic aspect, Tequilla Sunrise lacks the depth to muster up engagement from the audience. Underneath all that sleek and glamour, unbelievably the rest of the film is shockingly bland with its humdrum & flaccid approach, throwing in a bunch of characters in a film that could be mistaken as an action thriller and still managing to do nowt with it. I was so bored I had to fast forward some of the dull parts. It's as if they took an action film, stripped away all the action and replaced it with well, nothingness. Gibson plays a drug dealer, Russell plays a cop with slicked-back hair - yet the film grants them no opportunities to display more than 10 mins worth of action, of which it was totally lacklustre. Well, thank goodness for Kurt Russell's follow-up to Tequilla Sunrise, Tango & Cash, whereby through his team up with muscleman Slyvester Stallone, a year after Tequilla Sunrise's release, that movie was a far better display of his acting prowess, not to mention charm from an action crime movie, more so than this so-called attempt of a crime thriller. 

The love arc is handled in a clunky and dreary fashion and the love scene involving Gibson and Pfieffer included two body doubles. Mel Gibson just came off the back of the Mad Max movies and the first Lethal Weapon outing, Kurt Russell was making a name for himself in the '80s with Escape to New York, Big Trouble in Little China and Michelle Pfieffer after her breakthrough with The Witches of Eastwick alongside Cher, Jack Nicholson and Susan Sarandon. All three in Gibson, Pfieffer and Russell have fared better elsewhere with much better material and scripts at their disposal: their characters are so poorly written they just don't generate enough actual emotion or tension for us as the audience to care about them and who they are. 

Final Verdict:

Unfortunately, despite the premise, I just wasn't sold on it and it feels like Tequilla Sunrise existed just to plug their names, and nothing more. 

This could have been so much more to be considered as a hidden gem, but it just never did enough. A dud on the resumes of Gibson, Pfieffer and Russell (and to most, a justifiable one to boot). It's a grave disappointment. 

Overall: 

Mini Retro Review: Edison (2005) #badmovies

Edison aka Edison Force

2005

Thriller

Morgan Freeman, LL Cool J, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Spacey, Dylan McDermott, John Heard, Cary Elwes... one would think with a cast of (B) movie actors, Edison will have something going for it as a film. Timberlake appears to be the wrong fit as a reporter investigating police corruption, Kevin Spacey has a dodgy - looking hairstyle, although the performances themselves aren't formidable for a so-called crime thriller that deals in a serious subject matter (John Heard overacting in the last third scene). F.R.A.T seems to be a play on S.W.A.T. Directed by a TV producer (with credits in Law and Order, Seaquest DSV), this is a straight to DVD flick all-round, borrowing heavily from Training Day, but felt like an episode of Law and Order with dull filler and very little good action & suspense to get behind. As it dragged I can see why it didn't get a theatrical release: I had a hard time getting around to liking Edison; sluggish viewing, a sluggish story which as it droned on, made little sense, it had nothing. 

Is It Worth Watching?:

Nope

Overall:

Retro Review: Street Kings (2008)

Street Kings 
2008
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Forrest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, Cedric The Entertainer, Common, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews
Genre: Crime Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $65 million

Plot: An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself 

''Not The King Of The World'

Street Kings is a baffling movie: baffling, because with a premise that has been done and recycled to death in so many movies, not least Training Day, what with all the twists and turns, it ended up confounding me in ways in which everything else that happened in between in the lead up to those events, was dull and a waste of time. 
This is probably the toughest and challenging film Keanu has done, well until John Wick came along. But for the opening 10 mins, nothing rarely happens until the last 20 mins of the film, when it really comes alive.

Veteran LAPD cop Tom Ludlow is part of the Special Vice Squad Unit headed by Captain Jack Wander, where they shoot first, ask questions later and choose not to play by the rulebooks. Since his wife's death, Tom adapts a hardline approach to taking out criminals. 

When Tom's ex-partner, Terrance gets killed by a pair of machine-gun totting thugs in a convenience store, Tom gets hold of the videotape and is framed for Terrance's death. With the LAPD targeting him as a suspect, Tom has to go it alone. 

There are issues with this film as pointed earlier on; that and some of the dialogue was pitiful to hear and poorly written, and as a whole Street Kings was nothing short of flat and that story-wise, it just never stood out from beginning to end. The casting featured the guy from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the guy from Are We There Yet? and rom-com, Picture Perfect with a God-awful moustache that he didn't need, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Terry Crews, British actor Hugh Laurie, who went on to later success with House MD and pre -Avengers superstar, Chris Evans in a wasted supporting role as a budding cop. The characters are either one-dimensional or lifeless; even with the turncoat cops, it was obvious from the start who was behind it and that not one of them would have fooled 90% of the audience, who would have easily worked out that they had a hand in setting up and bringing down Ludlow. Keanu Reeves did what he could, but the material did him no favours, whilst Forrest Whitaker overacted at times and rapper Common and Cedric The Entertainer had to make do with characters, who were unpleasant and vulgar. Meanwhile, the female actresses had so little screentime, there was next to no character development for both Naomie Harris's & Martha Higareda's roles. 

I wanted Street Kings to defy me; this ought to have been a great film or be it one destined as a cult crime thriller -, instead, it became an underwhelming & hugely disappointing movie that didn't try anything or bring anything to the table, but instead, it rehashed and slapdashed some of the 'crooked cops' ideas of Training Day and tacked it onto a bland and generic script. & due to the script, there was not one stand out performance. In fact, the performances at best were comparable to that of either a TV cop show or direct-to-DVD film. Which, in itself, is sort of amusing as the sequel to Street Kings was greenlit and headed to DVD. The twists were all right, but they came too little too late and just weren't enough to salvage this movie.

Final Verdict: 

Deep down there is an underlying film that is waiting to be unleashed, yet for all the bravado it turns out that Street Kings rarely offers anything different, insightful and new: it's a B/Z-movie in disguise and one many would choose to overlook in favour of other similar and yet far better offerings. 

Overall:

Retro Review: Amores Perros (2000)

Amores Perros aka Love's A B***h
2000
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Emilio Echevarria, Goya Toledo, Alvaro Guerro, Vanessa Bauche, Jorge Salinas, Adriana Barraza
Genre: Crime Drama
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $20 million

Plot: A horrific car accident connects three stories, each involving characters dealing with loss, regret, and life's harsh realities, all in the name of love 

'Must -See Spanish Language Flick That Doesn't Lose Its Bark'

Amores Perros is a film that will raise eyebrows, from the very first act & all the way to the last, with a particular and central focus on dogfighting and bloody canine-based brutality that will shock and upset many dog lovers. It's a Mexican version of Steven Soderbergh's 2000 Traffic with its crossover and interlinked subplots with the contrasting and harrowing dogs in a car crash scenes & blended with an unblinking, cynical and gritty take on love that was nominated in the best foreign film category in 2001's Academy Awards.

Set in Mexico City, the first story involves a young man Octavio who has a crush on his abusive brother's wife and envisions a future with her by his side; when he discovers his dog, Cofi has a killer instinct by killing animals, he seizes on this opportunity to make enough money so that he and her can run away together. The second centres on a model, Valeria who experienced a car crash and who is still recovering from her injuries as she is confined to a wheelchair. Her dog, Richi was chasing a ball and ends up falling through the hole of the floor and is unable to come out. The third and final tale sees a down- &- out tramp and hitman, El Chivo rescuing and nursing injured dogs back to health, but who is also trying to come to terms with the past and to reconnect with his estranged daughter, of whom he had neglected and lost contact with.

The second act with Daniel/Valeria just didn't do it for me personally and lacked the potency and emotional feel of the first tale; unappealing, less satisfying and not very interesting either, it also feels completely out-of-sync in contrast to the first and final acts, it just didn't mesh well with the film's intended serious tone. Plus, at over 2 hours long, although the story didn't feel bloated, this film was way too long that the structure lacks a central purpose and there can be an argument that the female characters weren't portrayed in a flattering light.

Amores Perros contains grisly scenes involving dogs being brutally mutilated and bloodied, if you are a dog or animal lover, you might be taken aback by this and these can be difficult to stomach - although it is stated that no dogs were harmed during the making of this movie and that these were all simulated.

The characters themselves are well-defined, well-conceived - if not completely likeable and empathetic enough to fully root for; they can rub viewers up the wrong way as they can be perceived as irritating, and still, they are given plenty of scope for the story to manoeuvre as their motivations, reasons and decisions that they each make, come to ahead, particularly towards the end of the climatic and dramatic final act. Themes such as desolation, poverty, social redemption, the downfalls that fame poses and human and animal loss and suffering are deftly touched upon and with plausibility and realism. The performances all-round are absolutely great; likewise, lead man Gael Garcia Bernal, who here, demonstrates what a quality actor he can be, as he brims confidence, energy and a watchability factor in an early turn of his, along with a compelling screenplay at his disposal and cinematography-wise, Amores Perros, for a little known movie and when it comes to 2000s films as a whole, this is still impressive stuff.

Had the second act been as great as the first one or as good as the third act, Amores Perros would have been a truly excellent film. But still, two out of three ain't bad. Raw, occasionally brutal and intricate, though it is also gripping with engrossing and overlapping storylines that take effect and no- holds- barred ambitious filmmaking that builds and maintains suspense, multiple times, it still went out of its way to keep me engaged, whilst breathing new life into the dramatic genre of filmmaking.

Final Verdict:

This is a tragi-tale, and a decidedly bleak one, but also it manages not to shy away by being upfront and whilst it could have and should have gone even deeper and further, I still can't fault it.

A Spanish language and character-driven based piece whereby the metaphor of dogs is a catalyst for change for Valeria, El Chivo and Octavio in both good and bad ways, Amores Perros is definitely one everyone should see at least once in their lives.


Overall:

Retro Review: Rising Sun (1993)

Rising Sun
1993
Cast: Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Kevin Anderson, Mako, Tia Carrere, Steve Buchemi
Genre: Crime
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $107 million

Plot: When an escort girl is found dead in the offices of a Japanese company in Los Angeles, two detectives act as a liaison between the company's executives and the investigating cop

'Don't Let This Sun Go Down On Me'

I have not read the book this film is based on, like with many Hollywood adaptations, but Rising Sun is an overly complex offering that is fraught with issues and which is too intricate for its own good, as well as the audiences' tastes. 

The year in 1993 was a big one for Michael Crichton, author of numerous novels that were given the big-screen treatment: Jurassic Park became one of the highest-grossing movies as it topped the charts. Then came the follow-up, Rising Sun, which was a best seller in 1992. Crichton was critical of the changes, director Phillip Kaufman made for the film. & as mentioned, whilst I have not come across the book, I can see why he wasn't happy - that, and, as a general espionage thriller, Rising Sun is sorely lacking in all departments. 

A prostitute named Cheryl, who was also one of the guests, is found dead in the office building of a Japanese conglomerate and atop a table in the boardroom of Nakamoto headquarters. Her murder is under investigation by boorish LAPD Lt. Graham and because of his instant dislike towards the Japanese quickly pins the blame on Eddie. Detectives Lt. Web Smith is partnered up with the older and more experienced John Conner and the two try to make sense of who was responsible for Cheryl's death. With Conner, who is a specialist in Japanese culture, after discovering surveillance footage of the attack had been tampered with, both Smith and Conner suspect that the circumstances and motives behind it may run a lot deeper than they originally thought.

The story degenerates into an overlong, convoluted yet excruciatingly bland whodunit, which goes in all sorts of directions, but without a proper resolution, Rising Sun hasn't aged well and in watching it in 2019, this is an utterly trifling bore of a movie. The film presents itself as a mystery, yet I find it mystifying that no matter what avenue or route it headed with each storyline, either none of them made sense or that they came to an unsatisfying conclusion. Rising Sun lacks a focus; that and the lack of genuine tension and thrills for a so-called thriller makes it a huge disappointment. The mystery itself is sadly underplayed and so underwhelming, much to the film's detriment and it is conceived in a way that is not very enticing. But what compounded Rising Sun as a confusing mess is the sudden change of identity of the killer towards the end. The manner it happened and how Kaufman did this took me out and thus, it just didn't make an ounce of sense.

The buddy cop rapport between Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes doesn't work as well and having the latter function as a comic relief, lighter sidekick doesn't suit the movie's serious tone. The performances, as a whole, are okay, but they were burdened by an ineffective & plot-holed filled script. 

As far as Michael Crichton adaptations go for me, this is not up there with Jurassic Park, but it is not as bad as say 13th Warrior, Congo, Timeline. Heck, I'd take the much-maligned, Sphere of 1998 over Rising Sun.

Final Verdict:

Despite ending 1993 as the 17th highest-grossing film in the U.S box office, as a thriller it still underwhelms in every department; and by 2019 standards, Rising Sun, which is so utterly void of depth, just hasn't improved over the years.


Overall:

Mini Retro Review: Out Of Sync (1995) #badmovies

Out of Sync
1995
Genre: Crime Drama

Shot in under 1 month for around $1.5 million, Out Of Sync tries to be a nitty-gritty, urban crime thriller, but with its straight to video values and barebones plot, with more effort put in, this would have been a certified cult hit. An ex-drug addict now DJ (played by LL Cool J) is forced to work undercover for a cop to get info on a drug pusher - only to fall for the pusher's girlfriend. After years behind the camera with the Fame TV series and The Cosby Show spin-off, A Different world, choreographer/actress/director Debbie Allen's feature film debut seeks to tell the story competently, but, even with the odd sex scenes, it still has a makeshift TV episode feel and with that, Out of Sync lacks any sense of style and excitement to ramp up interest. Allen, herself, also makes a short appearance as a manicurist, her husband Norm Nixon as a basketball player, as is Gene Anthony Ray, who co-starred with Debbie Allen on the TV show, Fame as one of the thugs with Sister Sister's Tim Reid as a cop. It's too lightweight, lacking in punch with action scenes few and far between and as much as it tries to be a serious drama, is just not convincing enough. 



Is It Worth Watching?

If you are into movies like this, possibly but I found this one to be dry


Overall:

Retro Review: In Too Deep (1999)

In Too Deep

1999

Cast: Omar Epps, L.L Cool J, Nia Long, Stanley Tucci, Pam Grier, Hill Harper

Genre: Crime Thriller

U.S Box Office Gross: over $14 million

Plot: An ambitious young police academy graduate undertakes an undercover mission as a drug dealer so he can infiltrate the organisation of a leading drug dealer in Cincinnati 

'Doesn't Go Deep Enough'

A young undercover cop, Jeff, who is a recent police graduate, is chosen to infiltrate a narcotics ring and to help bring down a charismatic drug lord by the name of 'God'. But soon he finds his loyalties are divided and thus, he is torn between protecting and serving and upholding the law and the police and being a friend to the drug lord. 

Despite 2 somewhat violent scenes (one involving the use of a pool cue), In Too Deep is struck down by an anaemic script that doesn't make full potential of both Epps' Jeff and LL Cool J's antagonist character, God and in developing the drama and nasty side of his ego to its fullest. It is a crime drama that becomes a downtrodden and hollow viewing B/C-movie Donnie Brasco and Martin Scorcese's The Departed, with In Too Deep never managing to go much further than it should and ought to have done. 

The situations themselves are both disingenuous but these are also conceived in a way that, to be frank, I didn't fully buy into. Lead Omar Epps is okay but he lacks screen and leading man presence to carry it off; that, and it was difficult for me to feel anything towards Jeff, and as the movie fails to dig deep into his behaviours, situations, feelings and why he does the things he does. LL Cool J sheds his usual good-guy image by playing the big guy baddie, God. However, as much as he tries to inject a heavy and fierce presence and fieriness to his character, in a less than typecast role and one where it is rare to see him as the villain, it doesn't quite come off as well. 

Pam Grier is terribly underutilised and as one of the fellow cops, I wondered exactly why the writers didn't have her play a more integral role in the film and have her coming to the aid of her partner. Though to have In Too Deep waste the talents of Grier and Stanley Tucci- both established actors by relegating them to supporting roles wherein they could have easily elevated the movie further, is a poor move by the director and casting director in charge. Seeing as they also bring some quality presence, despite their (woefully) underwritten roles. The needless onscreen romance between Epps and Nia Long further impedes the pacing of the film. Also featured in the film are then '90s hip hop and R&B stars, rapper, Nas and singer, Mya. 

Funnily enough, the opening credits declare that ''this is based on a true story'', but Australian director Michael Rymer is unable to rouse any real or believable grit, hostility, tension and believability and with a poorly underdeveloped and flatlined script, it can be argued that none of the cast makes the grade with their performances.

This is a run-of-the-mill, watered-down New Jack City/Donnie Brasco/The Departed, lacking in depth when it comes to action, suspense, intrigue, thrills and characterisation that it can't escape from its B-movie/direct to video/DVD status values.

The good guy, who is torn between right and wrong and who has split allegiances with both parties, has been done to death before and after In Too Deep, and done far better in most instances. For a crime movie of this type, it plays out as a tired, repetitive offering that never really finds its rhythm, nor doesn't do much of anything that is good to surprise or entertain, whatsoever. 

 

Final Verdict:

In Too Deep paints a sloppily bland and far from compelling picture of the (un)loyal cop that contrary to the main title stays within its confines and doesn't try to be bold and adventurous. By trading in good old-fashioned gunplay and decent action for an underwritten story and with little to no genuine traits found in crime and cop-based dramas, this becomes a run-of-the-mill and also weak crime movie.

And one that is easily forgettable. 


Overall: