Renegade Force

Yikes, this was not quite what I expected. Granted it was well depicted, good script. But the two leads were the coldest pair I have ever evinced a disinterest in. You really didn't care what happened to them. That closing line from the dying renegade, the one about himself and the FBI man being alike. Spot on the money. You sort of wished they'd killed each other and then only two people would be dead.

Graphic, but detached. You couldn't involve yourself with the characters they were all so cardboard.

why do film directors always insist that actors portray fbi agents as dickheads? also, with the research facilities available to film makers, why do they make idiotic mistakes that mar their professionalism? case in point: in the court room scene where louis mandylor's trial is being held, his character is in full police uniform, including radio and sidearm. why? when the fbi guy walks out of the courtroom, he goes to a lockup to retrieve his sidearm. why was the person on trial allowed to have a gun in the courtroom but the fbi guy had to lock his up? at the scene where the fbi is preparing to storm the building where the baddies are hiding, one scene shows a cop loading the clip for his automatic weapon. that's utterly ridiculous! a cop would have his mags fully loaded before he showed up at an operation. it would be like a soldier loading his weapon at a battle.

'Renegade Force' aka 'Rogue Force' starts off looking, feeling like an adequate little dtv actioner from the 90's especially if you like Michael Rooker & Robert Patrick. The obvious story cliches about vigilante hard boiled cops don't do it much favors and the story sinks as it goes along. Too many dumb characters, bum lines of dialog for my tastes.

The efficient murder of a mansion full of scumbags is the latest case of vigilante justice, but Homicide Detective Simms (Diane DiLascio) can't pinpoint who's responsible. FBI Agent Cooper (Rooker) brought onboard has more of a handle on it. He's sure it's cops responsible and SWAT Sgt. Macllroy (Patrick) is looking more and more the likely leader.

Early on scenes of action are shot, edited well which many people hype up due to the fact real SWAT police procedures are used. A title card in the end credits cements the fact that real life skilled men helped out, participated in the film. Though this sentiment is largely gone towards the end as the opening piece is really the best thing here.

As for the cast, Rooker gets to play a hardcore obsessed cop which is totally in his wheelhouse. Patrick dons the police uniform again after his breakout as the T-1000 in 'T2', but is also saddled with the pic's obvious bad guy. Plenty of speeches, mixed messages carried out hastily for his character. There is a few supporting roles, but none memorable from an acting standpoint or how they tie in.

'Renegade Force' got lost in the shuffle of countless 90's dtv action trips and for good reason. A few moments rise above, but as a whole it's a rather generic experience for seasoned viewers and cannot be taken seriously. Fans of the stars might wanna give it a go as it's certainly not the worst thing on either man's resume. However nothing will wow you.

I watch a LOT of movies and about 1 in 20 has any redeeming qualities. This one is one of those, even though it is flawed. The first half was excellent, scenes loaded with little details that showed a lot of thought went into them, like, the FBI agent is grilling a bad cop in his office, then lifts his coffee cup to drink and it has a big smiley face on it. The smiley face comes back later in the movie as it's tatooed on the battering ram used in a later scene.

I have always considered the running street battle in Heat to be one of the best scenes of all time in movies. This movie has at least 3 scenes done just as well EXCEPT for the sound which is not as realistic as the sound in Heat.

This movie has a lot of firsts also, like, the sniping scene is done at 2000 yards and the bullets take 3 seconds to arrive at the targets. I've never see that little detail accurately portrayed before. I wanted to give those targets advice: Serpentine!!

The attempt to portray ALL the little details involved in sniper activity, and SWAT activity was incredibly enjoyable. I don't know if it was realistic but it sure convinced me. I just love that s***. This movie could have been a contender for top 10 in my book if the story hadn't lost momentum halfway through. It almost seems like someone told the producer to chop the film short because the ending is rushed and repetitious as there is no need to show the same tactical problems and solutions over and over again.

Anyone who likes action films won't be disappointed with this but don't expect Sleepless in Seattle ladies. No, this sure isn't that.

Rogue Force was a violent, interesting, and sometimes silly movie. I have to admit though, a big part of the reason I liked it is because it stars my favorite actor, Michael Rooker. Rooker is typically great and entertaining, and Robert Patrick is up there too. The violence is pretty gory, which is a plus, and the plot was interesting enough.

It's a low-budget action film. You could do a LOT worse.