Linewatch - La scelta

The plot: A cop with a dark past comes face-to-face with the past he's been running away from.

Cuba Gooding, Jr stars as a border patrol officer in New Mexico. He's trying to track down the ruthless "coyote" who left illegal immigrants for dead. In the mean time, he's clashing with racist vigilantes and his superiors, while trying to salvage his family life. This get even more complicated when some L.A. gang members show up, recognize him, and threaten to kill his family, unless he acts as their inside man.

I liked the first part of this movie better, before the gangsters showed up. Once the gangster plot took over, I became considerably less enthused, though I stuck around to see how it would end. The gangsters have a few good scenes, but they never really get the characterization that good villains require. In one memorable scene, they engage in some particularly brutal hazing, which does a good job of making you hate them... but it doesn't really tell you who they are.

The movie plays out somewhat predictably, but the competent stunts and fight choreography make the action sequences pretty watchable. The acting wasn't really a problem for me, but I doubt anyone here is going to win any awards. I generally enjoyed Linewatch, but it's difficult to recommend the movie to anyone but other die-hard Cuba Gooding, Jr fans. His career has been in freefall ever since the mid-2000s, but I actually liked most of his recent movies. They're not great movies, but they're better than what Steven Seagal has been shoveling out.

As a resident of a border state with Mexico, I was intrigued with the potential storyline that this film could portray. Unfortunately, it started out by meeting my expectations, but flat-lined about 15 minutes in. Aside from Cuba Gooding Jr.,and the actors who played both his wife and daughter, the performances of everyone else reeked with an odor that indicated that this was a low budget independent film. Instead of chasing "coyotes," the well known and despised human smugglers who incite so much tension and hatred along our borders, this film chased a story line about a bunch of big city gansta's who had the maturity level of 8 year olds. It's worth the $3 rental just to see Cuba Gooding Jr. Don't expect too much though. You just might be disappointed.

Cuba Gooding portrays a seemingly respectable cop whose shady past catches up with him, jeopardising his family and career. The concept may not be original, but Gooding's performance and reactions to some wretched and desperate conflicts serve to enhance the voyeuristic pleasure.

The well developed, colourful and generally unsavoury characters surrounding the drug and people trafficking industry add grit to the realism and enhance our understanding of, and sympathy for, Dixon's predicament.

Set against the harsh but stunning background of New Mexico's border country, superbly directed and acted, this is a cut above your average crime flick.

Well, just finished watching Linewatch, and i gotta say that it wound up being fairly enjoyable. The movie starts out very slow, not much action or dialogue, which is why i turned if off twice before finally convincing myself to give it a chance. I'm glad i did because it was more interesting than it began. It's not one of Cuba's best films in the least, but it definitely wasn't his worst. Pretty good plot that developed further into the movie. Once you get past the first 15 minutes of boredom, it is definitely watchable. Most people will probably not get past the first part, as I have done on a number of movies, but it was worth it in this particular movie. This will definitely not win any awards, but it is entertaining and interesting on the surface.

sorry about that guys, you have done a good job acting and supporting the dull plot and the non-creative directing. the story opens with some "flesh" which kept me watching for the next 40 minutes. after that, very disappointed, i withdrew the movie, just hoping that the cast-members got their well balanced fee for their efforts. i'm sure that working in a dull/boring environment calls for more effort than when being involved in an interesting enthusiastic project, no matter which kind of work is required. this movie doesn't entitle more than 1/10 but as the actors are not to be blamed i give it a 5/10 and declare again; this one is not worth any effort from your side.