Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Steven Seagal | ... | Det. Gino Felino | |
William Forsythe | ... | Richie Madano | |
Jerry Orbach | ... | Capt. Ronnie Donziger | |
Jo Champa | ... | Vicky Felino | |
Shareen Mitchell | ... | Laurie Lupo | |
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Sal Richards | ... | Frankie |
Gina Gershon | ... | Patti Madano | |
Jay Acovone | ... | Bobby Arms | |
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Nick Corello | ... | Joey Dogs (as Nicky Corello) |
Robert LaSardo | ... | Bochi (as Robert Lasardo) | |
John Toles-Bey | ... | King | |
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Joe Spataro | ... | Det. Bobby Lupo |
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Ron Brumbelow | ... | Cop |
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Jack Cipolla | ... | Cop |
Chic Daniel | ... | Cop (as Charles Daniel) |
Brooklyn cop Gino Felino is about to go outside and play catch with his son Tony when he receives a phone call alerting him that his best friend Bobby Lupo has been shot dead in broad daylight on 18th Avenue in front of his wife Laurie Lupo and his two kids by drug kingpin Richie Madano, who has been Gino and Bobby's enemy since childhood. As Gino is hunting Madano down, Gino discovers the motive behind Bobby's murder. This is when Gino's hunt for Madano leads to the showdown of a lifetime. Written by Todd Baldridge <sandib@eastky.com>
This is Steven Seagal's best movie. In it, he actually wrestles with the character he plays, and comes up with a dramatic performance that, while no Brando, is still quite believable.
This is a very violent film. It is also a very troubling film. William Forsythe - who also turns in a better than average performance - plays a lower-rung mob boss who, strung out on crack and finding his girl-friend cheating on him, turns psychotic and suicidal. Not a good mix - he starts blowing people away just because they irritate him a little.
The film is also an attempt to deal with the continuing fragmentation of neighborhood communities that were once the heart and soul of larger cities. The community is preserved, but only tentatively - the seeds of its eventual collapse have clearly been planted. The extreme violence of the film thus becomes the manifestation of a unresolvable frustration with the tensions of a community falling apart.
All this adds up to a surprisingly complex Steven Seagal action film that will haunt you long after the closing credits.