Made Men

In the small town Harmony in the countryside, Bill Manucci (James Belushi) is hunted down by hit men and he asks his wife Debra (Vanessa Angel) to travel to Los Angeles. Bill is under the witness protection program after betraying the powerful mobster Skipper. Out of the blue, the criminals Miles (Michael Beach), Royce (Jamie Harris) and Nick (David O'Donnell) come from Chicago and break in his house. They torture Bill to find where the money that he stole from their boss is. Bill does not tell and they drive him back to Chicago in a van to meet Skipper. When they stop in a gas station, they stumble upon the redneck Sheriff Dex Drier (Timothy Dalton) that asks his Deputy Conley (Tim Kelleher) to follow their van. Along their journey, the gangsters learn that Bill stole twelve million dollars from Skipper. Bill succeeds to escape from them but the owner of a drug laboratory Kyle (Steve Railsback) and his men abduct him. There is a clash between the gangs and Bill escapes again. Miles finds him and discloses that he is an undercover FBI agent that wants the money to arrest Skipper. But they are hunted down by Kyle and his gang and also by the sheriff. Will they succeed to escape?

"Made Men" is a film that combines action with comedy that does not work well. The director Louis Morneau unsuccessfully tries to imitate Guy Ritchie's style with a plot with many twists and betrayal. However the film entertains but is absolutely predictable with unfunny characters. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Traição" ("Betrayal")

This movie surprised me in a good way. From the box I got the impression that it was an action thriller but it was too funny to be a thriller, even though it was somewhat exciting.

There's a lot of nice one-liners and funny situations in this movie and James Belushi was born to do Bill Manucci, he does a great job. The rest of the cast ain't half-bad either and especially Timothy Dalton is a treat.

The story can get pretty confusing at times as new characters shows up during the film. Things get more complicated as nobody seldom tells the truth about things. If you don't pay attention things might get a bit messy in the end but I really liked it.

Louis Morneau isn't all that well known but he has done a perfectly OK job with this one and I never really grew impatient while watching the movie.

Made men is well worth checking out.

Made Men is a violent, twist-laden thriller which, though made for TV, has about it the feel of a theatrical release. The countless explosions and gunfights, plus the big-name cast, hint at a big budget production. Even the opening titles sequence is quirky.

The story tells of Bill Manucci (Belushi), an informant on the witness protection programme who has been relocated in a quiet, rural corner of America with his wife (Angel). He receives a mysterious tip-off warning him that he has been tracked down by some old associates, so he packs his wife off to L.A and prepares to face them. When the team of heavies arrive, Manucci leads them a merry dance, constantly lying, bluffing and provoking them as they put the squeeze on him to reveal where he's stashed $12 million that he stole from their boss. Later in the picture, other unpleasant types get in on the hunt for the money, like Steve Railsback's gun-toting hillbilly and Timothy Dalton's corrupt cop.

Dalton actually has the juiciest role in the film, delivering his dirty cop routine with lip-smacking relish. Belushi's character is quite hard to root for, since his tendency to lie-and-moan, lie-and-moan, lie-and-moan becomes irritating and repetitious. Michael Beach does well, though, as one of the heavies who may or may not be something other than what he claims.

Beyond the enjoyable performances, however, the film is somewhat ordinary. The snapping and snarling that passes for dialogue is uninspiring, the action scenes feel old-hat, and the plot twists aren't really as unexpected as they think they are. In fact, the film is familiar to the point of predictability. It's worth catching, I suppose, but it won't ever find its way onto anybody's top 100 list.

If you are the tight-reared highbrow type of audience. Feggettaboutit! If you just looking for fun, not bothering where your brain is at that time, its the right movie. You could call it an action movie, or just plain simple shoot-em-up. Whatever it is, you are in for some great fun.

A note about the actors. James Belushi has long stepped off his famous (or is he infamous) late brother's shadow and have proven to be a competent action star. He got his own gift for comedy, and in this film he makes full use of it. Timothy Dalton (one of my favourite Bond) plays a red-neck sheriff here. His southern accent is convincing here and there, but if you have your ears perked up like a dog, and with a knowledge that he is a Welsh actor, you might look for and find mistakes. Don't do it! Just relax and enjoy.

What a good film! Made Men is a great action movie with lots of twists and turns. James Belushi is very good as an ex hood who has stolen 12 million from the boss who has to fend of the gangsters , hillbillies his wife and the local sheriff( Timothy Dalton).you wont be disappointed, jump on board and enjoy the ride. 8 out of 10