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Renegade Force (1998) More at IMDb Pro »

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22 comments in total

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Pleasantly Surprised, 13 May 2004
Author: wally-70 from Los Angeles, California

I watch a LOT of movies and about 1 in 20 has any redeeming qualities. This one is one of those, even though it is flawed. The first half was excellent, scenes loaded with little details that showed a lot of thought went into them, like, the FBI agent is grilling a bad cop in his office, then lifts his coffee cup to drink and it has a big smiley face on it. The smiley face comes back later in the movie as it's tatooed on the battering ram used in a later scene.

I have always considered the running street battle in Heat to be one of the best scenes of all time in movies. This movie has at least 3 scenes done just as well EXCEPT for the sound which is not as realistic as the sound in Heat.

This movie has a lot of firsts also, like, the sniping scene is done at 2000 yards and the bullets take 3 seconds to arrive at the targets. I've never see that little detail accurately portrayed before. I wanted to give those targets advice: Serpentine!!

The attempt to portray ALL the little details involved in sniper activity, and SWAT activity was incredibly enjoyable. I don't know if it was realistic but it sure convinced me. I just love that s***. This movie could have been a contender for top 10 in my book if the story hadn't lost momentum halfway through. It almost seems like someone told the producer to chop the film short because the ending is rushed and repetitious as there is no need to show the same tactical problems and solutions over and over again.

Anyone who likes action films won't be disappointed with this but don't expect Sleepless in Seattle ladies. No, this sure isn't that.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Finally real tactics and not a bunch of fake YAHOOS, 29 May 2001
Author: Derryk Amiker from Silver Spring, MD

Ok this movie doesn't have a 100 million dollar budget, so what. At least the S.W.A.T teams are finally using REAL S.W.A.T tactics, equipment, weapons, training etc. and are not just a bunch of gung ho yahoos in blue jump suites with baseball caps on pretending to be an elite force like I have seen in most low budget films and even high budget films of the same nature. The Renegade Force looks like the real deal . Patrick and Rooker look like cops and act like... well cops. Yeah, the movie does suffer from a few plot holes but it makes more sense then some of these so call effects driven no story line and don't even ask about good acting multi-jillion dollar Hollywood block busters. If anybody is interested in a good authentic police action flick check this movie out. If you want unrealistic, lots of explosion really bad acting action, then rent Speed or any Dan "The Dragon" Wilson flick.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty good action movie, 21 June 2000

Author: Ivan Ravenous from California

Rogue Force was a violent, interesting, and sometimes silly movie. I have to admit though, a big part of the reason I liked it is because it stars my favorite actor, Michael Rooker. Rooker is typically great and entertaining, and Robert Patrick is up there too. The violence is pretty gory, which is a plus, and the plot was interesting enough.

It's a low-budget action film. You could do a LOT worse.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Great hard as nails movie, 23 May 2003
Author: Drugstore-Cowboy from Birmingham UK

I really enjoyed this film having caught it on Channel 5. Both times it was on I missed the start.

Please note this film was also known as "Six Angry Men" over here in the UK.

Michael Rooker is a really underrated actor and this is another underrated film. It's as hard as nails. SWAT Cops kill bad guys, FBI HRT Kill SWAT Cops not before lots of SWAT Cops kill cops and FBI Guys.

You have to see this movie its as Rooker is as hard as nails and Patrick is the perfect choice for the leader of bad guys. This film will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through.

"Your Honour, I rest my case." Drugstore-Cowboy 02

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Reasonable in action terms but really badly written and never more than passable (MAJOR SPOILERS), 2 May 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

FBI agent Matt Cooper joins police officer Helen Simms in her investigation into a series of hits on criminal types including drug lords and the producers of child pornography. Each hit is timed with clinical precision and carried off with ruthless efficiency. Cooper believes it to be the work of cops, frustrated with the apparent lack of justice in the legal system.

The idea here is one that will be familiar to anyone who watches action movies that go straight to video - the idea of cops taking direct action in `unofficial' units. The idea was also used in Scarred City, Most Wanted and many others come to mind. So it is here and this is acceptable to me as a basic plot. What lets the film down is the delivery and the writing of the film. If all you want is men with guns running around and shouting `go' or making tactical signals with their hands then you will find that this pretty much gives you what you need. However if you are looking for tension, excitement, characters or a script then I'm afraid that this will pretty much leave you annoyed and frustrated for in the midst of all the noise they forgot to include any of these things. The action is noisy but is never really exciting or tense, things go bang, people fall down and that's it - the finale is a fine example, it is just overblown and silly.

The characters lack any meat whatsoever and the film never makes any effort to get the audience to care about any of them - again hurting the chances of creating tension. The worst example is when Helen is killed - there is no feeling in the film and no dignity in her passing. I wanted to care but I found it impossible to give a toss. The film tries to create a John Woo style relationship between Cooper and McInroy but it fails spectacularly - their main meeting is spoilt because we have no idea (and never do) how Cooper has come to assume that it is McInroy doing it. This is also a problem of the script - it makes huge jumps in logic and it just seems to be unconcerned with the many, many holes that are dominant in the film.

The cast is average but the traditional `video action movie' stars are here and they attracted me as all I wanted is noisy action. Rooker is ok, he has a good screen presence and he does better than the material deserves - however you can often see it in his face that he knows he is better than this. Patrick is pretty poor, although you never feel that he is better than this stuff. DiLascio is ok and it was quite bad just how carelessly the film treats her. The rest of the cast are not very good and just sort of try not to be bad, however Kisicki is awful and his wooden delivery of even simple lines would have been funny were it just not plain sad.

The film manages to completely miss any clever writing that would challenge the viewers to support the actions of McInroy - a feat that even other genre films of similar values can achieve even a little bit. However, when the film opens with the slaughter of men with their arms up and women making adult porn (who are shot for making porn with animals - surely they are as much victims as anyone, albeit paid victims?) then it immediately puts the audience on the side of Cooper and never allows for the interesting blurring of morals in the same way that the TV show `The Shield' did. Yet again this is evidence of a script that is lazy and lacks ambition - all it wants to do is make noise, nothing more.

Overall this is a bad film but I'm sure that it will be passable for people who come to it just looking for men running with guns and nothing more. Although, having said that, I came to it just wanting some good action and I went away annoyed with it for failing to deliver any actual excitement, tension or involvement. This is enough but add to that a lazy script, illogical plot, average acting at best and zero characters. A really unengaging and uninspiring film - how low do your expectations need to be in order for this to be enjoyable to you?

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
what a fiasco!, 21 April 2004
Author: bpress54 from PA

why do film directors always insist that actors portray fbi agents as dickheads? also, with the research facilities available to film makers, why do they make idiotic mistakes that mar their professionalism? case in point: in the court room scene where louis mandylor's trial is being held, his character is in full police uniform, including radio and sidearm. why? when the fbi guy walks out of the courtroom, he goes to a lockup to retrieve his sidearm. why was the person on trial allowed to have a gun in the courtroom but the fbi guy had to lock his up? at the scene where the fbi is preparing to storm the building where the baddies are hiding, one scene shows a cop loading the clip for his automatic weapon. that's utterly ridiculous! a cop would have his mags fully loaded before he showed up at an operation. it would be like a soldier loading his weapon at a battle.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Unpleasant (spoilers), 3 July 2003

Author: unlikelyheroine from London, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a deeply unpleasant film, with no redeeming qualities other than the presence of the undoubtedly talented Michael Rooker, an actor who has been unfortunate enough to spend his career languishing in roles, and movies, far beneath his capabilities.

The movie lacks the drama and tension of a thriller and is simply a succession of ultra-violent scenes. By the final reel the violence has become so over-the-top as to be sickening - the final battle is nothing but blood and guts galore. The lead female character is blasted to death, quite unnecessarily, and no other character seems to care. Her body is dragged out of the way and the boys carry on with their shooting of each other.

Quite horrible, and not to be recommended.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
This is a classic example of what could have been a Hollywood hit., 18 August 2001

Author: mickeyboy86 from London, England

This could have easily been a Hollywood hit. If they'd replaced Robert Patrick with someone like Val Kilmer, kept Michael Rooker and, although Mandylor is very well cast, replaced him with someone like Josh Harnett or Ryan Phillipe, that alone would've got a Hollywood success. It would've needed a director like John McTiernan or a producer like Jerry Bruckheimer. More effects, more script, overromantisized, and edited on the gore-factor, that would've made hit. Having said that, this is very good for what it is. Mike Rooker is nicely cast as the distant and focused FBI agent while Robert Patrick provides an entertaining co-lead as the SWAT leader turned vigilante murderer. Very little known TV-movie actress, Diane DiLascio, is badly cast as the Detective working with Rooker's FBI guy. Anyone would've been better. But Louis Mandylor was exceptional as the gifted rookie cop, bought by Patrick and his SWAT mates to join their team in illegaly exterminating criminals. It does have quite an unexpected ending, an irony for our femme heroine. And the assistance of Real SWAT and Police teams on the set really provides an authentic realism, not too often found in those covert SWAT type movies. Worth seeing for some decent thrills and an overall action-packed picture. But don't expect a dramatically ground-breaking film.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
What the heck was this!!!, 21 December 2000

Author: Kevin Frantz (frantzkevin@hotmail.com) from ????

As soon as I looked at the cover I knew this movie would be a real winner. Not!!! The only reason I rented it was to see some SWAT things and cheesy action. I was disappointed in the SWAT stuff but the cheesy action was hilarious. The end fight was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The SWAT movement used by the FBI was pretty funny also at the airport. One would think that they would contain the area so no terrorists would escape but i guess not. Also why was a FBI agent investigating bad cops. Doesnt internal affairs do that. This seemed like a big city (they must be if they have a FBI office) but why was there no internal affairs. Doesnt the FBI deal in federal crime not investigating rogue cops. This had to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It reminded me of Search and Destroy which I fell asleep during one of the many action scenes in. Please spare yourself and don't watch this movie unless you want some good laughs.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Poor justice system forces police into vigilantism, 20 December 2006

Author: bonsaisamurai from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I really enjoyed this movie also, Robert Patrick doesn't do any roll by half, gives it his best. Rooker also was good in it. What still interest s me is the general theme of the movie - I haven't seen it in years but I find it very interesting how "The Law" took the law into there own hands because the "Justice system" wouldn't. Maybe not to the extent and level of organization the SWAT and Police officers went to in this movie but you can see Police officers snapping and taking out drug dealers etc. as they can't stand to see someone they know is guilty get off on technicalities or because of good lawyers etc. They want justice for their hard work and to know that there is a purpose to their work - not to have ivory towered judges and slippery lawyers undoing it.

I know the FBI characters where obviously the good guys... but I was hoping the Vigilante SWAT guys would win out in the end, we could use guys like them really.

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