Tom Hardy comes from a family of cops and has just broken the cardinal rule – never speak out against another cop – which now makes him persona non grata with the other cops. Presently there's a serial killer on the loose and when Tom and his father and some other cops corner him, a big chase ensues and when it is over Tom's father is dead, supposedly killed by the perp. Later a suspect is brought in whom Tom doesn't believe is the one but most of the cops just don't want to believe him or think that his objective is clouded. Eventually he is drummed out and the only position he could get is at river rescue. Two years later he still sticks to his beliefs and apparently the killer is back but nobody believes him and some people think that he is copy-catting the killer. Tom Hardy is a fifth-generation cop. When his father dies during the chase of a serial killer, Hardy further complicates matters by implicating his partner and cousin Jimmy in a police brutality case. Two years after Jimmy is believed to have committed suicide, women from Hardy's past start to turn up dead, and his father's alleged killer is found. Believing that the alleged killer is a patsy, Hardy conducts his own illegal investigation into his father's death, and the women's deaths as well. In a riveting climax, Hardy and the killer ultimately lock horns in a showdown that ties all the loose ends on both cases. This movie is so filled with cliches that nobody could actually take it seriously. The very theme of it is based heavily on cliches. I wonder if it's coincidental or on purpose that it was so loaded with cliches; but it's actually pretty entertaining to count the cliches, and laugh hard at them. I saw this movie with a friend, on TV, for free(luckily), and so I could laugh at the pure ludicrousness of the extreme cliche-count. The plot is one big pile of cliches; the acting ranges from horrible to average at best. The characters are cliches and stereotypes, every single one of them. For some weird reason, the word "f*ck" is also said at least a couple of times every five minutes. This movie is so cliche-filled, corny and B-movie like that it's hard to believe. I honestly don't believe that anyone could take this seriously, but I hope anyone else who, for some reason or other, decides to watch this, can also appreciate the comedic value in counting cliches and laughing at them. Otherwise, I don't think you could enjoy this, at all. I recommend this to anyone who's seen enough thrillers to know of all the cliches and who knows a good thriller from a bad one. Watch this, and laugh at how corny and ridiculous it is. 5/10 A killer is on the loose in Pittsburgh. Nicknamed Little Red Hiding Hood, the killer kidnaps and murders women before dumping their bodies. Police Officers Vincent and Tom Hardy are father and son and on their way to a policeman's' ball (despite Tom being considered a 'rat' within the precinct) when the call comes in that the killer has been located. A chase ensues that ends with the killer escaping and Vincent dead. When Tom accuses the police department of brushing over the investigation by arresting a man who Tom believes is innocent and, when he puts forward his theory that the killer is a cop, he is busted down to River Patrol as punishment. Years later bodies start showing up in the river, Tom starts to investigate, adamant that the killer is still out there and is mocking him.<br/><br/>Before Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys showed that he could act and Die Hard 3 also returned his box office clout, Bruce Willis seemed to be headed to a ruined career. He was making pretty poor films and he made a run of films between 1991-94 that, frankly, were bad. Colour of Money, Last Boy Scout, Hudson Hawk and Bonfire Of The Vanities were pretty poor and whatever value they may have had was ruled out by the bad business they did at the box office. Here is one of his films that would barely be considered for a low budget video thriller were it not for Willis being in the cast. The plot is really thin and far from special. It opens up with an enjoyable car chase but after that it gets poor and stays that way. The film wanders for a bit while introducing Willis' new partner (a woman he hates her but I wonder if they'll hit it off at any point?!) but then gets down to the business of the killer. It isn't really ever exciting or gripping and the final twist is laughably bad it's like they had a contest to come up with the stupidest twist they could, although, having said that, it is also depressingly obvious after 15 minutes of the film if you have seen some of this genre.<br/><br/>The cast are not terrible, just stuck with bad material. Willis is sleeping walking which is why he started making such average films - even Die Hard 2 suffered from his laziness. Here he shows everything that is bad about him as an actor, he is lazy, uncharismatic and just lacking in any of the unique touch and wit that made me fall in love with him in the original Die Hard. However the support cast are actually quite good on the whole and make the film feel better than it is simply due to the number of faces on screen. Parker is pretty poor but the rest do OK because they aren't stuck with a cr*p love-interest role. Farina is fun, Sizemore has little to do but is a familiar face. Mahoney has a very small role but is worth it and it's cool to see Braugher, Busfield and James even if Pastorelli is just laughably stupid!<br/><br/>Overall this is a video thriller with a poor plot, awful twist and no real tension or excitement despite the promise posed by the opening car chase. The only thing that makes it stand out from those is the fact that it fluked a handful of big names in the cast however, their presence alone cannot lift the material off the bottom shelf of your video store or the midnight slot on your cable station where it rightly deserves to be.
Sahvreb replied
344 weeks ago