To say that being a policeman is in his blood would be both understatement and literalism for Tommy Hardy(Bruce Willis,pre-shaved,still reasonably bad-ass),a fifth generation Pittsburgh police detective. Already stinging from having to turn witness against his own partner(Robert Pastorelli)over mistreatment of a witness,things go from bad to worse when a high speed pursuit of a perp,believed to be a serial killer,ends in tragedy for the man in question,both personal and career-wise.
Flash forward two years,and Hardy now works River patrol,considered a sort of "non-essential" position in the force,away from his former plain clothes and uniforms--to which he seems to have burned many bridges--and his life has taken a more apparently low key quality. He still cannot "play nice" with others and earns himself a new partner/diver: a chipper,idealistic single mom(Sarah Jessica Parker,still many years away from "Sex and the City").
Unfortunately,a serial killer is on the loose again,one very similar to the one the force believes they'd captured and convicted already. The MO has Hardy convinced the real killer is out there,but he seems to be the only one who believes this.
Very pat elements to this cop drama(stubborn,tough cop who doesn't believe in the blue code,a sadistic killer,Irish/Italaian cop families,etc.)give frame to this still-watchable flick from director Rowdy Herrington(director and co-writer)and Mark Kaplan(co-writer).Willis is completely at home in this,and this is a side of Parker I frankly miss(it seems like forever since she settled on playing chatty,selfish city dwellers with personal problems!). Throw in solid character actors who look the part like Dennis Farina(as Willis' Uncle,a chief mucky muck in the department),Tom Sizemore(as Willis' cousin,a perceived screw-up),Brion James(as a department head who has a natural tendency to chafe Willis' character and vice-versa),John Mahoney(as Willis' Dad,a chief himself),Andre Braugher(in a small part as an inscrutable District Attorney)and Timothy Busfield(as a wormy,by-the-book partner diver;there mostly for physical comedy relief),and you have a film that,while unremarkable in and of itself,is still interesting and works on the designs it was drawn. I would classify this as a "cheap rent" and worth a watch,particularly for the main stars on the marquis. Don't get me wrong,though,that's hardly a bad thing.
Flash forward two years,and Hardy now works River patrol,considered a sort of "non-essential" position in the force,away from his former plain clothes and uniforms--to which he seems to have burned many bridges--and his life has taken a more apparently low key quality. He still cannot "play nice" with others and earns himself a new partner/diver: a chipper,idealistic single mom(Sarah Jessica Parker,still many years away from "Sex and the City").
Unfortunately,a serial killer is on the loose again,one very similar to the one the force believes they'd captured and convicted already. The MO has Hardy convinced the real killer is out there,but he seems to be the only one who believes this.
Very pat elements to this cop drama(stubborn,tough cop who doesn't believe in the blue code,a sadistic killer,Irish/Italaian cop families,etc.)give frame to this still-watchable flick from director Rowdy Herrington(director and co-writer)and Mark Kaplan(co-writer).Willis is completely at home in this,and this is a side of Parker I frankly miss(it seems like forever since she settled on playing chatty,selfish city dwellers with personal problems!). Throw in solid character actors who look the part like Dennis Farina(as Willis' Uncle,a chief mucky muck in the department),Tom Sizemore(as Willis' cousin,a perceived screw-up),Brion James(as a department head who has a natural tendency to chafe Willis' character and vice-versa),John Mahoney(as Willis' Dad,a chief himself),Andre Braugher(in a small part as an inscrutable District Attorney)and Timothy Busfield(as a wormy,by-the-book partner diver;there mostly for physical comedy relief),and you have a film that,while unremarkable in and of itself,is still interesting and works on the designs it was drawn. I would classify this as a "cheap rent" and worth a watch,particularly for the main stars on the marquis. Don't get me wrong,though,that's hardly a bad thing.