Most Wanted (1997)

A Marine on death row is recruited by a shadowy U.S. military officer as part of a top-secret ops team, then gets framed for murder when the team and it's officer set him up as the fall guy for the assassination of the First Lady.

Director:

David Hogan

Writer:

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Stars:

Keenen Ivory Wayans, Robert Kotecki, Rick Cramer

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keenen Ivory Wayans	...	Gy. Sgt. James Dunn
Robert Kotecki	...	Marine Lieutenant
Rick Cramer	...	Bus Guard #1
Kenn Whitaker	...	Bus Guard #2
Wolfgang Bodison	...	Capt. Steve Braddock
Jon Voight	...	Gen. Adam Woodward / Lt. Col. Grant Casey
Eddie Velez	...	Sergeant Peyton
Michael Marich	...	Omega 3
Simon Baker	...	Stephen Barnes (as Simon Baker-Denny)
Jill Hennessy	...	Dr. Victoria Constantini
Donna Cherry	...	First Lady Bonnie Anne Hartfield
Robert Culp	...	Donald Bickhart
Eric Roberts	...	Assistant Deputy Director Spencer
Paul Sorvino	...	CIA Deputy Director Kenny Rackmill
John Diehl	...	Police Captain

Storyline

Sgt. James Dunn, who is wrongly accused of assassination of the officer he had a row with, is saved from death row and recruited for top-secret special operations squad led by Lt. Col Grant Casey. Their mission is to neutralize criminals who had avoided conventional law enforcement methods. On his first Mission, James is made the fall guy for the assassination of the first lady and everyone is looking for him and Dr. Victoria Constantini who was lucky to videotape what happened. One of the forces looking for him is military, led by Gen. Adam Woodward, which is in fact an alias for Grant Casey.

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Plot Keywords:

assassination | first lady | videotape | manhunt | frame up | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes the most patriotic thing a Marine can do... is disobey orders. From most honored to Most Wanted.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport New Line Cinema

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

America's Most Wanted

Filming Locations:

6th Street Bridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,836,490 (USA) (10 October 1997)

Gross:

$6,320,276 (USA) (5 December 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ivory Way Productions, New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Dunn is trying to log in to the hospital's computer, he starts typing Shaun, then changes it to Sean. He never tried Shaun or Shawn, which most likely one of them would have worked and given him access, and there was no reason not to try them.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marine Lieutenant: Standby, Sergeant. Target should be coming into sight. Target's in sight. Take him out.
Sergeant James Dunn: It's a kid, Lieutenant.
Marine Lieutenant: We have our orders, Sergeant.
Sergeant James Dunn: Can't be more than ten years old.
Marine Lieutenant: I don't care about his age. Take him out!
Sergeant James Dunn: I can't...
Marine Lieutenant: [draws his pistol] Goddammit, Sergeant! We have our orders here! Fire, now! Now! Obey my fuckin' order!

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Connections

Referenced in MythBusters: Ice Bullet/Exploding Toilet/Who Gets Wetter? (2003)

User Reviews

Hilarious action romp

This is one of the most entertaining action films I've seen in a long time. It was hilarious. I don't think there was one moment of the film that the viewer could take seriously, and I'm not really sure whether this was intentional or not. Either way, this film is hilarious. I've seen straight-up comedies that weren't as funny as this film.

Throughout the '80s, we saw a trend toward more and more outrageous action films. The Die Hard series really pushed the limits of the suspension of disbelief, and that trend continued with a number of other films. Most Wanted is a continuation of this trend, perhaps the culmination of it.

If you pay money to rent this and expect to see a serious action/conspiracy film, you're in for a big disappointment, because that's not what this movie's about. It's about hyperbole, and that's what makes it entertaining. You can't help but laugh at it.

Jon Voight is fantastic in his role as the cruel general. If I were going to cast someone in an over-the-top role, I'd have to choose Voight. I enjoyed him in Anaconda, and I enjoyed his performance in this film.

If you want to see a hilarious action/adventure romp, rent Most Wanted. I thoroughly enjoyed it.