Lethal Tender (1997)

Bad guys are poisoning drinking water, and there is only one man who can stop them, Jeff Fahey.

Director:

John Bradshaw

Writer:

Tony Johnston

Stars:

Jeff Fahey, Kim Coates, Carrie-Anne Moss

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Fahey	...	Det. David Chase
Kim Coates	...	Montessi
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Melissa Wilkins (as Carrie-Ann Moss)
Gary Busey	...	Mr. Turner
Denis Akiyama	...	Det. Peter 'Playdo' Ota
David Mucci	...	Wally
David Fraser	...	Ed 'Smarty-Pants' Williams
Martin Roach	...	Sammy
Jonathan Potts	...	Pogo
Karyn Dwyer	...	Sparky (as Karen Dwyer)
Chris Pickle	...	Banjo
Linda Barnett	...	Lizzie (the tour guide)
Chris Gillett	...	Lt. Rogers
Bill Lake	...	Lt. Wilson
Emily Merryn	...	Sarah (as Emily Roberts)

Storyline

All out action film as a team of terrorists/robbers seize a water purification plant and threaten to pollute a city's entire drinking supply. However, the attack is in fact a cover-up of an in-progress robbery. Kim Coates plays the over-the-top genius leader of the gang at the plant, while Busey is a double-crossing leader of the burglary.

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Plot Keywords:

catfight | die hard scenario | independent film

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Taglines:

Money is the most explosive element.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alerta Geral

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deadly Current Productions, Le Monde Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carrie-Anne Moss and Kim Coates previously starred in the pilot episode of F/X: The Series together.

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Quotes

Wally: [pantomimes a dead corpse in front of hostages] Hi, everybody! I'm leaving now, got the rest of the day off! Yes-sir-ee you won't see me no more! New boss is a great guy! He said I could have the rest of the week off, ha ha ha! It's such a drag!
[Wally laughs and drags the corpse off-screen]

User Reviews

Cut and dry action film, has its moments

This film was pretty typical. It had its good moments, and it had its bad ones. Jeff Fahey was the biggest negative; a flat and wooden actor, he did nothing to help the movie. He was the stereotypical cop, cheeze-filled and all bravado, but he lacks the charm to pull it off. Too many great actors have done it better.

Kim Coates was impressive, he reminded me a lot of Gary Olman in The Professional (though not as good). He brought most of the character into the film, though his band of cronies were all quite amusing.

The dialogue was rather amusing, probably the best part of the film. Except for the occasional mandatory cheeze line typical of all second rate action films, the dialogue kept the movie rolling along smoothly.

Carrie-Anne Moss was hardly a standout. Compared to some of her other roles, this one was just plain horrid. Her fight scene with Karen Dwyer (who was quite cool) was so horribly fake. And Karen Dwyer's character (Sparky) *should* have kicked her ass, instead of some lame ecuse about being able to fight due to five older brothers in a one-bathroom house (blah-blah-blah)

Gary Busey was his wonderfully psychotic self; this could have been his most amusing role since Lethal Weapon, but his character was under-developed. In fact, most of the characters were under-developed; characterization was a real weak point.

As well, the film was *just* too long. The final scene was pushing it, and was also anti-climactic after a fairly strong buildup (it just kept going and going and...) As well, this pushes the ‘bad guy keeps the good guys alive then decides to kill them using a more painful and easy-to-escape choice of death' boundary pretty far. After Fahey and Moss escape the first time, never mind the three to four times afterwards, any self-respecting baddie (*especially* Coates' character who liked using his gun) would've just put a bullet in their heads.

Overall: Fast-paced, fun action. Often unbelievable, but hey, it's a cheezy low-budget action film, who cares? Fun to watch; I'd recommend this on an ‘all the good films are out' night. 5/10.