In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Dick Lowry

Writer:

Tracy Keenan Wynn (writer)

Release Date:

27 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Florida 1985: A series of brutal robberies and murders keeps the F.B.I busy. Although all crimes seem to be comitted by the same group...

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ronny Cox	...	Agent Benjamin 'Ben' Grogan
Bruce Greenwood	...	Agent Jerry Dove
Michael Gross	...	William "Bill" Russell Matix
Doug Sheehan	...	Agent Gordon McNeill
David Soul	...	Michael "Mike" Lee Platt
Ronald G. Joseph	...	Ed Mireles
Teri Copley	...	Vickie
Richard Jenkins
Peter McRobbie	...	John Hanlon
Anne Lange
Katie Layman		(as Kathleen Layman)
Deborah May
Becky Ann Baker
Randal Patrick
Ashton Wise

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Germany:18 | UK:15

Company:

Telecom Entertainment Inc.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the shootout between the FBI and Matix and Platt, Mike Platt is crouching in front of the brown sedan (in a far shot), but in the very next shot, Platt gets up off the ground and then crouches in front of the car again.

Movie Connections:

Followed by In the Line of Duty: Street War (1992) (TV)

Finally Out On DVD

Finally out on DVD, fans of true crime dramas and action films will really enjoy this 1988 made-for-television production. Based on actual events in Miami, Florida (I'm not sure how embellished), "In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders concerns a pair of military trained bank- robbers and the FBI task force who attempted to identify and apprehend them. This is a far cry from the fictional movies that attempt to glorify G-Men or violent criminals.

Both sides are portrayed in their real life bumbling glory as the robbers act stupidly and recklessly and the task force basically stumbles into them and is ill prepared for the confrontation. But this makes the story quite fascinating and if you connect with it you will probably want to watch it several times.

The film is structured as two parallel stories and what suspense there is stems from the viewers knowledge that the two stories will eventually intersect with each other, you just don't know how or when it will occur.

The strength of the film (besides its real life feel) is the characterization of the two robbers, played by David Soul and Michael Gross. Although their backgrounds are fragmentary, it appears that they bring out the worst in each other and their crime spree continues more for the adrenaline rush it provides. They begin to really get off on the violence and power, their crimes are almost random which tends to work in their favor as the investigation can find little logic or pattern behind their activities.

The film's weakness is the parallel story of the task force. This was a far cry from a cerebral Sherlock Holmes type investigation so you eagerly wait for them to cut back to Soul and Grace. The characterizations are generally shallow and weak so almost all viewers will end up identifying with the two criminals; even though they have a lot of mad dog qualities. Doug Sheehan is quite effective as the task force commander but Bruce Greenwood and Ronny Cox (rookie paired with veteran) are painful to watch.

The violent climax is worth waiting for, although the violence is in real time, the confrontation has the slow-mo feel of a Sam Peckinpah production.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.