My wife watches "Gangland Undercover" on the History Channel and I sometimes catch clips of it. Both the series and 1993's "Beyond the Law" are about individuals going undercover and joining an outlaw biker gang. Both are also based on true stories. After watching the gritty, realistic "Gangland Undercover" I was a bit let down by the tone of "Beyond the Law." While the bikers are wild and do totally wicked things, the movie has too much sheen to stack-up, excuse the pun. The acting & dialogue come across as how a geeky screenwriter imagines bikers to act rather than how they really do.
This isn't helped by the miscasting of Charlie Sheen who, although an excellent actor as witnessed by 1986' "Platoon," lacks the physical presence and grittiness to be believable in the role. His baby-face doesn't help, although they try to hide it with a beard. Still, he's a good actor and, if you're a fan of the outlaw biker film genre that ran from 1966-1973, "Beyond the Law" is a must. The other members of The Jackals are well cast, like Michael Madsen as the leader, Blood, and Leon Rippy as Virgil, the mechanic.
The rockin' soundtrack is great, featuring cuts by the likes of Saigon Kick, Asphalt Ballet and Dying Breed, as well as more mellow stuff.
Linda Fiorentino is sharp as the main babe, but she's blown out of the water by Blood's "old lady," the raven-haired bombshell played by Hollie Chamberlain. A couple of other women have cameos at a saloon.
There's not much else to say. This is a decent biker film and is unsurprisingly better than a lot of the low-budget biker flicks from 1966-1973, but it seems too polished and bubble-gummy. It doesn't hold a candle to giants like 1966's "The Wild Angels" or 1969's "Easy Rider," but it's still worthwhile if you enjoy the genre and the last act is the best part.
The film runs 108 minutes and was shot in the Phoenix, Arizona, area and El Mirage Dry Lake, California.
GRADE: B-
