Accused of stealing millions of dollars in drug money and killing a Mob boss, a Chicago cop fights to clear his name.
At first I thought this was a generic 90's Segal/Van Damme wannabe production and only looked at it because Charlotte Lewis graces the screen. She's of Irish/Iraqui/Chilean heritage and is quite the exotic looking hottie. So I thought I'd spend some time fast forwarding through a lame actioner looking for a little Carlotte Lewis sugar. But something surprising happened, the movie was actually good. It has several strong points not he least of which is that in addition to setting the movie in Chicago, the creators actually shot in in Chicago, as opposed to Toronto. I love playing the "Guess where they shot that" game. EXCESSIVE FORCE shows off the Windy City in its best and worst lights. You get the beauty and the warts. I think viewers get a feel for the city.
Charlotte Lewis is of course beautiful, exotic sultry and just about anything you could want in an action star's girlfriend. She even gets to use an Uzi and that scene will get your heart rate up.
Thomas Ian Griffith turns in a more intelligent script and performance than I thought him possible. Really pleasantly surprised. he also seems to know the city a little more than the usual Hollywood writer and that's always good. His script even has a little texture to it.
You've got a great supporting cast too what with James Earle Jones, Lance Henricksen and Burt Young all turning in their usual solid performances in whatever roll it is they were playing. Ian Gomez, who was pretty funny in The Drew Carey Show has a bit role too.
What you have here is a surprisingly good movie that has plenty of bone crushing action and is just good looking enough and just smart enough to raise it above the howling pack. I wish Griffith would have kept making movies because he could have turned into a really solid lower budget action movie creator. So too paraphrase old Tymie British poet Robert Herrick, "Gather ye Thomas Ian Griffith movies while ye may".
September 8, 2008 |  | The best action film of 1993 |  |
You have the right to remain silent... PERMANENTLY. A hard-hitting action thriller about a renegade cop who'll do whatever it takes to get the job done. When $3 Million disappears during a drug bust, undercover cop Terry McCain is pitted against a sadistic mob boss. After McCain's partner is brutally murdered and his ex-wife is threatened, he strikes back the only way he knows how... with force!!!! This is an awesome action film. This film is packed with NO- HOLDS- BARRED- ACTION!!!!! If you like martial-arts and are a Thomas Ian Griffith fan (like me). This film won't dissapoint you. This is his best flim since The Karate Kid part 3. KK3 is the best KK film.
March 8, 2005It's rare in some of these action films for the lead actor to have also written the script, and it's even rarer when it comes out this well. Thomas Ian Griffith who plays the lead role of Terry McCain also wrote the script and served as the film's producer. He plays a sort of loose cannon cop who uses "excessive force" in trying to get the goods on mafia leader Burt Young (Rocky). When his partners Dylan (Tom Hodges) and Frankie (Candyman's Tony Todd) are killed in retribution, McCain finds himself a target. There's the usual dirty cop syndrome, but Griffith's script is tight and has some pretty good surprises along the way. Lance Henriksen plays soon to be police chief and Griffith's boss, and gives his usual sturdy performance. Charlotte Lewis appears as Anna, Griffith's estranged love interest, and James Earl Jones (Great White Hope) steps out of his Darth Vader shoes to play quite nicely Griffith's mentor and buddy. Director Jon Hess keeps the action moving nicely and there are some good kickboxing/fight sequences. All in all, a well done actioner, and probably should have been more noticed during its theatrical release.
January 17, 2005| | | GRIFFITH'S BEST SINCE KARATE KID III | |
Action superstar Thomas Ian Griffith takes on evil Italians and corrupt cops in this edge-of-your seat thriller. In perhaps his best role of all time, Griffith crafts a fascinating character unlike any ever seen before: a cop frustrated with his work and alienated from his wife. When Griffith uses excessive force to get a confession, a web of intruige and sinister alliances is slowly revealed to him. The film also features a supporting cast of seasoned veterans such as James Earl Jones and Lance Henriksen who both deliver solid performances. With plot twists you will never see coming, touching moments which will leave you in tears and the one of best guitar-solo and saxophone soundtracks ever written - not to mention explosive, glass-breaking karate action, "Excessive Force" is a 90 minute visual feast of pure adrenaline! A must-see film for any fan of good cinema.
February 5, 2004Good action movie. I actually saw this in the theater(yes, it did have a theatrical release!) back in the day. This was about the time when cheap action and horror films were starting to disappear from theaters. Excessive Force would be straight to video if released today. Pity, coz it's pretty fun. Thomas Ian Griffth never became the next Seagal or VanDamme-something the producers were obviously trying to do with him-but he really does the action tough guy thing wonderfully. He even had a hand in the script. He's got the look and the moves, he's even a decent actor. He went on to do some direct to video action pics, and played the lead vampire in John Carpenter's Vampires. You may also remember him as one of the villians from Karate Kid III(the guy who teaches Daniel how to break noses). Other than that, the guy is virtually unknown. The plot doesn't offer anything groundbreaking in terms of cops/robbers action, but it's a cliched film done well. It's got a better than average supporting cast of James Earl Jones, Lance Henriksen, Tony Todd(the Candyman himself!), and Burt Young(Paulie from the Rocky movies). These guys must have also seen potential of the script to want to appear in it. Good supporting actors, a good script, and a good performance from the lead raise this otherwise by-the-numbers action movie up a few notches to something quite entertaining.
January 13, 2004More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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