Scar City (1998)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Ken Sanzel

Writer (WGA):

Ken Sanzel (written by)

Release Date:

23 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

He who controls the cops controls the city

Plot:

A young cop gets thrown in with a special police squad who are acting as assassins against hoods and who don't care who gets in the way.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Video Store | Beautiful Woman | Dead Boy | Independent Film

Cast

Stephen Baldwin	...	John Trace
Chazz Palminteri	...	Lieutenant Laine Devon
Tia Carrere	...	Candy
Michael Rispoli	...	Sam Bandusky
Gary Dourdan	...	Sergeant Dan Creedy
Bray Poor	...	Zero
Steven Flynn	...	Bobby
Dana Eskelson	...	Janice
D.B. Woodside	...	Forrest (as DB Woodside)
James Villemaire	...	Speedy
Larry Manetti	...	Paul
Herschel Sparber	...	Tito
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Broughton	...	Leather
Jeffrey Buehl	...	Dealer
Lou Cantres	...	Raphael Soto
Sarah Carone	...	Georgy
John Cenatiempo	...	Thug #2 (as Johnny Cenatiempo)
Blaise Corrigan	...	Thug #1
Chad Courtney	...	Druggie #1
Douglas Crosby	...	Guard #5
Andy Davoli	...	Paramedic #1 (as Andrew Davoli)
Andy Duppin	...	Short Coat
Renée Estevez	...	Cop #2
Frank Ferrara	...	Terry Furrell
Cort Hessler	...	Guard #2 (as Cort Hessler III)
Dexter Locke	...	Long Coat
Jalil Jay Lynch	...	Denim (as Jalil Lynch)
Artie Malesci	...	Guard #4
Heidi Jo Markel	...	Faith (as Heidi Jo Market)
Mike Massa	...	Flaco
Mick O'Rourke	...	Mike
Dylan Price	...	Ted Crewe
Matt Saha	...	Bad Boy
Elliot Santiago	...	Hector
Sharon Scruggs	...	Bartender
Manny Siverio	...	Druggie #2
Brian Smyj	...	Guard #1
Cory Solar	...	Stripper
Al Thompson	...	Ski
Zach Tiegan	...	Detective (as Zachary Tiegan)
Bobby Unser Jr.	...	Ted Furrell
Jerry Walsh	...	Heckler In Bar
Collette Wilson	...	Paramedic #2
David Zayas	...	Cop #1
Chuck Zito	...	Guard #3

Also Known As:

S.C.A.R. (New Zealand: English title)
Scarred City

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Millenium

Usual but likable thriller.

When I first saw "Scarred City" on late night broadcast TV some years ago, I liked it, despite editing of mammary organs, blood and profanity (It was aired 11.35 p.m., beyond the hold of the dreaded FCC. Aw, the idiocy). Thankfully, I got in on DVD and I like it a bit more. It's not the best, but has charm.

John Trace (Stephen Baldwin) is a good but trigger-happy beat cop in Brooklyn, New York, facing three bad shootings. A fourth happens with a unarmed drug perp. Lt. Laine Devon (Chazz Palminteri) is the only high-level cop sympathetic to Trace's predicament and inducts him into the SCAR unit, an elite group of cops that handle dangerous thugs. It's better than going to jail, but Trace, during a sting at a porn shop, finds Devon and the rest are also trigger-happy, but have no conscience and the powers-that-be look the other way. He goes along for self-protection, but, during a violent drug bust, he breaks rank by saving the life of a call girl/torch song singer named Candy, played by sweet-faced, sassy Tia Carrere. Marked for death by both sides of the law, both of them have to work together to stay a few paces ahead.

"Scarred City" is your usual late-night, B-feature but has much more, thanks to director's Ken Sanzel's witty dialogue-laded script and the performances. Sure, Baldwin's sometimes sleepy, Carrere's too smart and both look a bit old for the roles, but they play along well as two unlikely lovers who don't fit in their professions, another good redeeming factor. Palminteri comes across more of a mobster than a cop, but still menacing. TV fans should note the appearances of Gary Dourdan (CSI) as Devon's right-hand man and Larry Manetti (Magnum P.I.) as a mob-connected, strip joint owner. The rest of the cast is also reliable.

And no, Tia's doesn't display her "goodies" but there's a funny bit involving that. Although it pales in the shadows of the superior "Magnum Force" and the recent "Frank Miller's Sin City" (particularly the slightly similar "That Yellow Bastard" vignette, starring Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Nick Stahl), "Scarred City" is good enough with a six-pack of beer (I prefer orange juice), three extra cheese pizza pies, a soft-core porn film and a Chris Rock concert film on a Saturday night.