canuckteach

Bana as a troubled law officer in Yosemite (with the BC wilderness filling in) does a great job as a skilled but grouchy investigator. (I saw a Brit crime show where the lead guy would glare and walk sullenly walk away whenever he was asked a question). He takes a young female park Ranger, Vasquez, under his wing and they save each other's lives (eventually). None-too-pleasant a rapport in the interim. No one in this series ever makes love (good news, but there is some cursing... pick your poison).

The main issue is a troubled (and wounded) young lady jumping off a mountain early in Episode 1 and colliding with some climbers. Her true outcome is not revealed til Episode 6, but there's plenty of other bad guys and drug-dealers to chase down in the interim.

Sam Neal plays a pleasant station commander who deals gently with a sometimes bickering staff. Could he possibly have a past we don't know about? Only a few slow moments, and I am delighted to find a decent PG13 series that can keep my interest.

Cut the bad language and this would be a model neo-western for all age groups. The 3 leads, esp. Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges, are excellent. However, the supporting cast (tellers, diner waitresses or patrons, other police) are stunningly lifelike also.

The story revolves around 2 brothers robbing small branches of banks in sequence for 'loose cash'-not the big bundles which could be marked and traced, or 'booby-trapped' with dye. Jeff Bridges plays a Texas Ranger, soon to retire, who is tasked with chasing down the elusive pair.

It's interesting to research the RANGERS: they have jurisdiction in all 254 counties in Texas, and serve as a resource to local law-enforcement. So, the role of Bridges and his young partner, is shown with fidelity. Bridges, in fact, accurately divines which small town will be the target for (what turns out to be) the final heist.

The movie PRODUCTION CODE (1934-64) dictated that all bad guys had to suffer for their crimes-a 'vanilla' approach that led later to the grittier 'film noir' era. This film is an example of sort of a modern noir: not all the bad guys are rounded up by the end (contrary to the old Code). Refreshing! In fact, Bridges may yet get his man, but the final credits are running. 8/10 bad language (I could shoot this film without it-still be in the '1001 films to see before you die'!)

What if a pool of 'gifted' thinkers could 'foresee' serious crimes and tip the police? Arrests could be made, people locked up, no one gets hurt! Tom Cruise runs just such a crime-fighting crew and the 'murder' has fallen to near zero. Makes sense-and video replay is available to verify the facts.

Until, of course, Tom himself is indicted in a felony, with 'unmistakeable' evidence against him. He manages to get free to prove his innocence, but evading detection is tough! The authorities have spider-like devices that can creep into a building and check everyone's i.d. By retina scan. Creepy! Can Tom escape by having a double-retina transplant? (remember: in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King!)

Finally, Tom goes on the run with one of the gifted thinkers. This enables him to evade detection, of course for a while, but she also knows different things that might be going on with various people in the crowd. She stops one hapless female and blurts out, 'he knows- don't go home.' I have never seen anything like the 2 scenes I have described here, and ORIGINALITY counts big with me. After all, every ploy has been done before in film-making, right? Well, it ain't necessarily so. 9/10.