Richard Chance, a gung-ho risk-taking secret-service agent, is out to avenge the death of his partner at the hands of an expert counterfeiter, but his reckless actions lead him into a chaotic and ultimately self-destructive spiral, with tragic consequences.
This eye-popping cop thriller, from a novel by Gerald Petievich, is somehow both gritty and glamorous, arty and trashy, enjoyable and deplorable. It's extremely rare in an American thriller to have an antihero who is so resolutely obsessive and distasteful, and who pays the ultimate price for it in the end. Petersen is blisteringly unforgettable in the role, despite having no prior movie experience; all body-popping fireworks and crackling on-screen energy. The rest of the cast are all brilliant as an eclectic series of lowlifes, especially Dafoe as the thoroughly deranged funny-moneymaker. What really pumps this movie into a higher gear though is the supercool direction by Friedkin - his camera zooms all over the place, never pausing for breath, rushing through the action, lovingly painting its canvas of eighties Los Angeles as a cradle of sin. The orange-and-brown photography by Robby Muller, superloud snare-drum music of art-rock band Wang Chung and razor-fast editing by Bud Smith are all first-rate. There is an incredible chase sequence (supervised by Buddy Joe Hooker) when Chance drives the wrong way down a freeway, which is one of the most impressive ever committed to film. The clever twist at the end puts the icing on a brilliantly conceived, top-notch crime thriller. This is a film which puts a detestable sociopath in the hero role and subverts all the standard genre clichés. Never trust a copper.
This eye-popping cop thriller, from a novel by Gerald Petievich, is somehow both gritty and glamorous, arty and trashy, enjoyable and deplorable. It's extremely rare in an American thriller to have an antihero who is so resolutely obsessive and distasteful, and who pays the ultimate price for it in the end. Petersen is blisteringly unforgettable in the role, despite having no prior movie experience; all body-popping fireworks and crackling on-screen energy. The rest of the cast are all brilliant as an eclectic series of lowlifes, especially Dafoe as the thoroughly deranged funny-moneymaker. What really pumps this movie into a higher gear though is the supercool direction by Friedkin - his camera zooms all over the place, never pausing for breath, rushing through the action, lovingly painting its canvas of eighties Los Angeles as a cradle of sin. The orange-and-brown photography by Robby Muller, superloud snare-drum music of art-rock band Wang Chung and razor-fast editing by Bud Smith are all first-rate. There is an incredible chase sequence (supervised by Buddy Joe Hooker) when Chance drives the wrong way down a freeway, which is one of the most impressive ever committed to film. The clever twist at the end puts the icing on a brilliantly conceived, top-notch crime thriller. This is a film which puts a detestable sociopath in the hero role and subverts all the standard genre clichés. Never trust a copper.