After one of his colleagues is murdered, cop Jerry Beck (Don Johnson) is put on the case to track down the killer.
As Beck stumbles from clue to clue, he realises the killer is a member of a white supremacist cell with ties to a broader network of groups with plans to join forces as a single heavily armed entity.
Blocked by obstacles both external and internal, Beck will have to push himself beyond his limits in order to overcome the forces marshalled against him.
Famously rubbished for the leading man’s hairstyle, Dead Bang is sadly underrated.
I think it might have a lot to do with the title - it is two words which do not convey anything that the movie is trying to be about.
And it just looks wrong.
You try to convince people to watch a movie called Dead Bang.
It’s like telling people to breath after a fart in a locked room.
Directed by the great John Frankenheimer, Dead Bang looks great. And it has a lot to recommend it.
As a viewing experience, it was an easy watch - I was expecting some turn or dip where the movie would fall apart, and earn its reputation.
But that never came.
The ending is rather abrupt, and the romantic subplot with Penelope Ann Miller is dropped arbitrarily.
Star Don Johnson was trying to get away from Miami Vice, and you can feel it.
From the broken glasses to the divorce to crappy apartment and alcoholism, Jerry Beck is a world away from Sonny Crockett.
Johnson is charismatic, and it is too bad he did not get more chances, but this role is an odd fit. Not terrible, but the character feels just a little more square than Johnson is as a perfomer.
The story is ultimately a familiar one - a rogue cop is accused of going rogue one too many times, and proves his naysayers wrong by going rogue.
There is something darkly ironic about this theme - it is a popular one from the eighties action cinema, but it is one that has sadly polluted real-world policing, particularly in America.
As the country’s institutions fall under the sway of an authoritarian regime preaching the same white supremacist ideology as the villains of this movie, Beck’s railing against his superiors and the feds feels more vital.
The villains being white supremacists is interesting, and the film deserves some credit for showing some level of alignment between the bigotry of the bad guys and the more banal, but insidious racism of the local law enforcement Beck has to contend with.
The film builds an intriguing level of paranoia, as Beck becomes increasingly distrustful of the local police and the bleach-blonde FBI agent (the usually villainous William Forsythe, cast against type) who seems to appear at the most opportune moments.
It almost starts to feel akin to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, except with white supremacy as the covert menace. It makes for a more unstable and tense atmosphere.
The action is well-handled and the story features some interesting turns.
Aside from the villains, there is nothing about the movie that stands out.
Ignore the title. It is worth a look.
No comments:
Post a Comment