Scar - Ohne Gesetz

When I first saw "Scarred City" on late night broadcast TV some years ago, I liked it, despite editing of mammary organs, blood and profanity (It was aired 11.35 p.m., beyond the hold of the dreaded FCC. Aw, the idiocy). Thankfully, I got in on DVD and I like it a bit more. It's not the best, but has charm.

John Trace (Stephen Baldwin) is a good but trigger-happy beat cop in Brooklyn, New York, facing three bad shootings. A fourth happens with a unarmed drug perp. Lt. Laine Devon (Chazz Palminteri) is the only high-level cop sympathetic to Trace's predicament and inducts him into the SCAR unit, an elite group of cops that handle dangerous thugs. It's better than going to jail, but Trace, during a sting at a porn shop, finds Devon and the rest are also trigger-happy, but have no conscience and the powers-that-be look the other way. He goes along for self-protection, but, during a violent drug bust, he breaks rank by saving the life of a call girl/torch song singer named Candy, played by sweet-faced, sassy Tia Carrere. Marked for death by both sides of the law, both of them have to work together to stay a few paces ahead.

"Scarred City" is your usual late-night, B-feature but has much more, thanks to director Ken Sanzel's(writer/showrunner on "Numb3rs") witty dialogue-laded script and the performances. Sure, Baldwin's sometimes sleepy, Carrere's too smart and both look a bit old for the roles, but they play along well as two unlikely lovers who don't fit in their professions, another good redeeming factor. Palminteri comes across more of a mobster than a cop, but still menacing. TV fans should note the appearances of Gary Dourdan (CSI) as Devon's right-hand man and Larry Manetti (Magnum P.I.) as a mob-connected, strip joint owner. The rest of the cast is also reliable.

And no, Tia's doesn't display her "goodies" but there's a funny bit involving that. Although it pales in the shadows of the superior "Magnum Force" and the recent "Frank Miller's Sin City" (particularly the slightly similar "That Yellow Bastard" vignette, starring Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Nick Stahl), "Scarred City" is good enough with a six-pack of beer (I prefer orange juice), three extra cheese pizza pies, a soft-core porn film and a Chris Rock concert film on a Saturday night.

Given the middle of the road IMDb ratings I didn't expect much from this movie, but after viewing the trailer decided to give it a shot. Was I pleasantly surprised! The story about a cop with issues who joins the corrupt, homicidal, vigilante police unit, then sees the light and fights them is certainly not new, but this movie delivered on what it purports to be--an enjoyable, fast-paced action film.

The three main actors were somewhat deadpan in their delivery, but that made their characters seem all the more...well, scarred. The movie contained all the ingredients for an engaging film: It had action, characters you care about, and even some romance. Hey, it's not "Ben-Hur" but it's a terrific little B film that worth checking out.

I had the chance to watch this for free and I've got to say it was worth every penny. Seriously, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been. It's a decent if never surprising "action" movie with a bit of cleavage and lingerie thrown in. I felt that a lot of parts seemed thrown together and rushed, but I've seen a whole lot worse.

I had no expectations of this film, but I was thoroughly entertained. We showed it to friends the very next day to see what they thought.

The film's premise is quite outrageous and it is executed in a stylishly outrageous way. There are several Wow! or 'Nice Shot' moments. In fact this film is very close to Grand Theft Auto.

The script is genuinely funny, reminiscent of another Tia Carrere classic, Hollow Point.

For some reason the idea of a Baldwin film is an amusing thing. The South Park movie says, "What sucks about being a Baldwin? Nothing!" I am impressed with Stephen Baldwin's restrained, laconic, dry and heroic performance. We wondered if he were blind, considering the number of disconcerting smiles he issues with his eyes closed.

Chazz Palminteri is the Man. He's given the stupidest role and as usual he makes it seem almost convincing, while he enjoys himself a great deal.

Tia Carrere sings, moves around a lot, looks good, has her moments and kills people. What more can you ask for?

This film scores over many 'better' films by working hard to introduce the opposition. You are half way through the film. You know Stephen Baldwin is up against it, and all the bad guys are still there.

The film is filled with memorable characters. I very much enjoyed the 'fight in the bar' scene because there's no fight. They should use the bouncer in a new series of the Munsters.

I didn't expect "THE USUAL SUSPECTS" but what I found was a film with some GREAT GREAT moments.. funny and caustic... a beautiful song by Tia... some fantastic scenes that made the occasional 2-D plot come alive with the fresh delivery and chemistry between the two stars!