Excessive Force

"Let me tell you something. I've wasted the last three years of my life on DiMarco. I'm getting tired of watching him walk in and out of courtrooms in his two-thousand dollar suits and silk ties! You start answering my questions or I'm gonna shove these broken ribs right through your fucking lungs!" - McCain

release year: 1993
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 12/8/22 and several times in the past, ranging back to the early 1990s

synopsis: When a drug bust goes wrong and $3 million disappears, a mob boss takes it out on the police involved.

impressions: This was pretty good stuff back in the day: a simple plot with a couple of twists, nasty gangsters, and a tough cop with a violent streak who will kick all the ass necessary to get the job done. In this case, that process truly begins around 24:30 when he finds out that his partner got kiled, and gets that look in his eye....you know that violence and mayhem are imminent. Griffith can fight, although he generally looks more menacing than dramatic - I always thought he would have made a good Jack Reacher, given his height and physicality. This is a good solid action/martial-arts movie from its era, which I enjoy re-watching every few years.

acting: I've said enough about Thomas Ian Griffith. Lance Henriksen is his super-serious captain. Tony Todd and Tom Hodges are the other members of the ill-fated police team. Burt Young is the short but ruthless mob boss, and W. Earl Brown is his equally mean son. James Earl Jones has a minor role as a bar owner/musician (and maybe retired cop? It's never made clear.)

final word: Dependable late-80s / early-90s action.

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