Un flic à Chicago

Patrick Swayze stars in this action crime drama as a Chicago cop from the south avenging the death of his brother. So the plot is pretty basic, so what, it is still an enjoyable action/crime-drama. The cast was very good in this film, which includes Liam Neeson, Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Adam Baldwin, and even Ben Stiller in a smaller role. The action was pretty good too, especially the chase on top of the train. The film also used its Chicago locations very well, which is something I like in movies. The film has a few faults, including an extremely predictable ending. But aside from that its a fun film for action fans. 3.5/5

What makes this action drama particularly moving is the comparison between the extended family of a Sicilian crime boss and the clannishness of the hillbillies. While Joey Rosellini insults the mountain folks as people "who farm rocks" his boss John Isabella sees the link -- "that is what they said about our people back in the old country." It is not a matter of who wears the nicer suit; it is a matter of blood, of kinship, and of ensuring that the one with the greater grievance has justice is done for his family. This is a very old tradition, both in the Sicilian families and in those Celtic clans that moved into the hills of Appalachia. In this aspect "Next of Kin" reaches a level of art not usually found in action films. The scene of the women packing sandwiches for the big hunt shows a level of clan community not well understood by us city-folk.

Watch this film and enjoy.

"Next of Kin" is pretty much the standard vigilante movie. Only the actors were changed to protect Charles Bronson in "Death Wish" (1974) and Sylvester Stallone in "First Blood" (1982) from this overplayed formula movie.

Truman Gates' (Patrick Swayze) brother has a brand-new truck and is selling wholesale cigarettes. He should be shot for that. Oh, he was. Evidently, against the advice of his partner, the brother decided to protect the cigarettes from hijackers with his life. On the other hand, little Joey Rosselini (Adam Baldwin) is showing off and cannot back down from the challenge.

Now Truman must identify the person whom his brother insulted and incarcerate him. You guessed it; the rest of the kin which includes Blair (Liam Neeson) thought you were supposed to "incinerate" him. So, the fun begins. Bang! Bang! Shoot-um up.

Patrick Swayze stars in an action revenge thriller in the same year that he also made Road House, the following year he made Ghost, these were two years after he had made a sensual splash with Dirty Dancing. Thus it's safe to say that Patrick did not pigeon hole himself. Next of Kin holds no great hidden gem rewards, but it's a rock solid thriller boasting a splendid cast list featuring Liam Neeson, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Adam Baldwin, Andreas Katsulas, Ben Stiller (in a serious role), Michael J. Pollard, Ted Levine and Paul Greco.

Plot finds Swayze as a Chicago cop who after the murder his younger brother desperately tries to uphold the law while one of his brothers from the "sticks" would rather enact all out revenge on the mobsters that killed the younger sibling. Suffice to say things go pear shaped and blood, loyalty and life altering decisions do follow.

The trajectory is simple , honest cop tries to do the right thing by the law in spite of the hurt in his heart, hillbilly brother (Neeson getting the best role in the film) would rather deliver some "deliverance" type justice - all while the rest of the "Gates" family clan await the call to come wading down from the hills to aid the retribution flow. The action scenes are well enough staged by director John Irvin, there's a whole bunch of fun in the characterisations - even if they are standard 101 scripted - while if you can get past Swayze's ponytail you will find a very restrained and cool performance.

Hardly a must see, but definitely no stinker and worth your time as a time filler, if only to see such a fresh faced young cast of well knowns turning tricks before bigger things awaited. 6/10

This film is a very average 80's action/thriller. There really isn't a lot of action until the end, but I can't imagine it being categorized as anything else because the plot was so transparent and shallow that it couldn't be considered a drama or anything. This one has it all: Cheesy lines, the aforementioned bad plot, horrid and forced acting and really bad special effects.

The movie's upside, which most people already pointed out, is the cast. What were these people thinking when they agreed to be in this stinker? There's tons of big names in this film from when they were very young. Ben Stiller as a mobster, Liam Neeson as a 'hillbilly', Helen Hunt as the girlfriend...Adam Baldwin, Bill Paxton, and obviously Patrick Swayze. Speaking of Swayze, it's movies like this that really stopped his career from going from 15 minutes of fame to possibly 15 or more YEARS of fame.

Bad accents, forced acting, out of place casting and everything else mentioned above made this movie a below average film even for its time. Unless you're a Swayze nut, stay away from this movie.