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 its officer set him up as the fall guy for the assassination of the First Lady.

Director:

David Hogan (as David Glenn Hogan)

Writer:

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Stars:

Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jon Voight, Robert Kotecki

1 win & 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:

time bomb | assassination | top secret | first lady | death row | 

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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 Viaduct, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,836,490, 12 October 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,320,276, 7 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?

Trivia

This film reunites Jon Voight and Eric Roberts, since their collaboration in Runaway Train (1985), in which Voight was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, while Roberts was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the film, during the explosion on top of the building, the "air rams", used to project the stuntmen into the air, are visible.

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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

I've seen better...

Keenan Ivory Wayans! Jon Voight! Action! Thriller! Suspense!

Yawn...

Well, I can't say it's a bad movie, it's just not a good one. Basically, it's Mr. Wayans in the tried, tired, and true role of The Honest Soldier Being Framed By an Evil Army Official. If it wasn't so formulmatic, it'd be a lot more enjoyable. Alas, the movie does nothing to establish it's own identity separate from other similar films. The acting is suspect in parts and some of the one-liners make you cringe. Jon Voigt is the only actor who seems remotely believeable, but even his acting seems a bit forced in parts.

Final Analysis: I wouldn't rent it, but if you're not doing anything else and you come across it on the TV, it might be a good guilty pleasure.