In my opinion, an action movie "City Police" 1997 with a comedian Eddie Murphy starring, which was once shown on TV under the title "Metro" (although there is not a word about the metro) - it falls into the cohort of underrated and undeservedly forgotten film works. From that year, people more often remember such things as, for example "No Face" or "Con Air", which are certainly excellent representatives of the action genre. Although, in the picture John Woo the very idea of facial skin transplantation seems untenable due to the fact that Travolta and Cage have completely different skull shapes. In order to achieve the desired result, it is not limited to skin transplantation alone. Now, if they had chosen actors who were similar to each other and had the same physique, this inconsistency could have been avoided. Be that as it may, I really like the film as a whole.
But I digress. I don't understand why the director's film Thomas Carter suffered such a fate? Maybe someone is able to explain? He could become a cult, because he has everything for this. A cool and charismatic main character with humor and a weakness for gambling, a smart but unbalanced villain with a prickly gaze, a well-choreographed action sequence that boasts one of the most spectacular and intense car chases, bright secondary characters, and the acting is in perfect order. Perhaps if the film had been released at least a couple of years earlier, when the popularity of the genre among viewers was still beginning to fade, the ratings would have been higher.
Or maybe everyone is used to seeing Murphy as a comedian with his signature wide smile with all 32 teeth. And here suddenly there is such a contrast! But Murphy wouldn't be himself if he played his character completely seriously. Therefore, here too he allows himself to joke and smile, thereby defusing the tense atmosphere. But all humores are appropriate and without excesses in the direction of comedy. Therefore, for me personally, the film is not perceived as an action comedy - there is more seriousness in it. It seems that adding humor to the main character is Murphy's initiative, not the screenwriter's. And the director only agreed. Or maybe I'm wrong. Be that as it may, this only worked to the advantage of the film. And in those scenes (and these are the majority) where you need to be serious and tough, the actor looks great.
In contrast to the main character, there is an equally cool villain. Michael Wincott, the younger brother of my beloved Jeff Wincott, played his role brilliantly. It’s impossible to say without wryness that his film career was successful. Not all the projects in which he took part turned out to be profitable and received good ratings and reviews, but we must admit that he does great bad guys. This film confirms this thesis. He is one of the most memorable action movie villains for me personally. His evil, prickly look, the character of a sociopath, a maniac hiding behind the mask of an intellectual who does not see the slightest value of human life... All this more than compensates for, for example, the lack of impressive muscle mass and/or ignorance in martial arts. Michael, unlike his brother Jeff, tried to appear more in category A films. Having no fighting skills (as far as I know), he apparently tried to take advantage of acting. It's a bit of a shame this guy didn't do better.
I can’t help but mention the secondary characters. Michael Rappaport - an excellent partner with a bunch of useful skills, smart and reliable. He may also turn out to be a good friend to the main character, but it is this aspect that the film does not properly explore. Paul Ben-Victor, who appeared a year earlier in, in my opinion, a strong action film "Maximum Risk" as a villain, he also plays great here. The role is small, but important and memorable. His character would take its rightful place on the list of the most clumsy and unsuccessful assassination attempts. And also Art Evans и Donal Logue good in their small roles.
What's interesting about the action scenes is that the film has one of the best car chases in cinema. No exaggeration. It is long, spectacular, driving, intense. It was shot beautifully and takes place on a sunny day, which means there are no problems with lighting. Good angles and choice of slow-mo. There are also plenty of accidentally damaged cars. This is what modern action films lack, even if they are shot in an old-school manner. It is clear that a chase is more difficult to arrange than hand-to-hand combat or shootouts. This requires more money and time. But even at that time, car chases were not present in every action movie, and when they did occur, not all were as exciting. That’s why I value them even more. The film can be proud of its presence. Compared to it, the rest of the action pales in comparison, but if you take it out of the equation, it’s also good. It's not as intense and long-lasting, but that's good. Diversity is welcome. No action for the sake of action itself, everything is subordinated to the plot and logic. There are also thriller elements, which are also very well done.
In general, no matter where you look, I personally see only advantages in this film. I won’t hide the fact that there are a couple of questions about some scenes; it would be better to play something differently, reveal something in a little more detail, add something... Then it would be absolutely ideal. But these shortcomings are not critical and not so significant as to vilify the film. They can even be easily missed. For me, this is one of the best action films of that time. By the way, it has not even become outdated in more than 20 years and looks as fresh as before. And time, as we know, is merciless, and not every film manages to avoid its negative influence. Time has no power over this picture yet. And for this I appreciate her even more.
Sergey Volkolak
Especially for Fight-Films.info
I have two complaints about this film. Excessive length and absolute cliche. The first half, until the villain is apprehended, looks quite cheerful, and then it sags and is boring until the very end. The episode of the prisoner's liberation enlivens the film, but by this moment I usually already begin to yawn specifically. Well, stamp on stamp drives stamp on stamp. Even Wincott is demonic as usual. In general, no matter how much I love Eddie Murphy, the film turned out to be a kind of craft. "Beverly Hills Cop" for the poor.
Dmitriy,
With a claim to being clichéd, you can reject 90% of action films and 80% of all other cinema.
VKontakteUser34,
Okay, then there will be one complaint.