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Thomas Ian Griffith (who was introduced to film audiences as the slimy Terry Silver in The Karate Kid part III) wrote, produced and stars in this action flick about Terry McCann, a Chicago cop with a short fuse (and one hell of a kick) who becomes engulfed in an inside plot to steal $3 million in mob money from a crime scene. They don't like that. He now has to unravel the plot before it gets him killed and those he loves around him.

I really enjoyed Excessive Force (1993). Griffith is a very likable and watchable action hero. The plot isn't the most original thing going for it but it moves fast and has good energy. An interesting cast was assembled for the film which included genre fave Lance Henrikson, Vader's voice James Earl Jones, Candyman himself Tony Todd, Rocky's brother-in-law Burt Young and the exotic Charlotte Lewis. The cast I think is what saved it from becoming standard action fare.

This is an AWESOME and underrated martial arts flick. The action is fast-paced, the plot is intriguing, and Thomas Ian Griffith shows off some impressive martial arts talent. The film has everything you want. From classic one-liners to over the top shoot-outs! If you are a fan of Van Damme or Seagal movies, you better check it out. Thomas Ian Griffith could of had a great career, too bad he never got another chance. The film also has an amazing supporting cast and direction and editing are perfect. A rare gem! I've seen the film over a dozen times and it never gets old...highly recommended. One of the last good 90's action kick 'em ups.

What starts out looking like a vanity project for Thomas Ian Griffith, eventually morphs into a pretty good action flick. There are some pretty good actors that contribute mightily. Burt Young always delivers an interesting performance, with bad guys his specialty. Here he dishes out some out of the ordinary violence. For the first half of the film, I was wondering what James Earl Jones was doing in the movie? Only in the second half does his character gets more involved. Griffith high kicks his way through a nice assortment of bad guys who have zero character development. Towards the conclusion a twist is delivered that I did not see coming, and Lance Henriksen delivers the goods, as he too has little to do until the last part of "Excessive Force". Overall an entertaining film that delivers what it promises. - MERK

I really enjoyed this film. But not because of his action scenes, which action-crime films usually offers. The strongest edge of this film is acting crew. I mean, check it out: Thomas Ian Griffith (known from "Karate Kid 3" and "Vampires", the leading man here, he did a fine job, but on some moments pretty shallow performance, nevertheless, he is good), Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Alien 3, AVP, OK, no surprises here, this commanding and great actor appeared in many low budget films, so it's not surprising at all), Charlotte Lewis ("Pirates" and "Men of War", well, I think she was chosen because of her beauty, nothing more), Burt Young (Rocky films, he is a good actor and I usually expected him in supporting roles in big budget films), W. Earl Brown ("Deadwood", he is great, and this was one of his first works), Tony Todd ("Candyman", great, scary actor, known for his trade mark height and deep, spooky voice, well, he appeared in most of these low budget films, so it's not surprising at all) and James Earl Jones ("Star Wars", now... I was really confused about him here, what a hell? How did he get here, the best actor in the film... in such low budget film, well, maybe he liked the crew too). And I think that acting crew is the best thing in this film and it's worth watching because of it.

Now, when it comes to script and plot, it's an average revenge seeking film, I mean this film was really unknown, and yet they put a challenging taglines like "Meet the new contender", "In 70s, we had Bruce Lee, 80s Chuck Norris and now in 90s... meet the new guy", all that exaggerated claims... and in the end... no luck. I think that Griffith is a good actor and a good martial artist, but this kind of movies can't do much for you... If you are a fan of these kind of films, you can easily enjoy it.

i liked this movie.sure ti's your typical action/crime drama film,but Thomas Ian Griffith makes a pretty credible action star.plus Burt Young was very convincing as a mob boss.there's certainly plenty of action here,but it's not too over the top.i thought the fight scenes were more realistic than in most movies of the genre.Griffith displays some great moves.which suggest he is very skilled in fighting himself,or the fight choreography was very well done.what's refreshing is there are no flashy camera tricks this time around.the movie moves at a good pace,and there are a few twists and turns,which make it more interesting.it is unrealistic at times,of course.Griffith is basically a one man army,against what should be overwhelming odds.other than that this is an entertaining 95 minutes.i give Excessive Force a 7/10