Caçada Brutal

The FBI Murders is a made-for-TV film that really surprised me. The acting ranges from good to excellent. No one in this film did a poor job portraying their characters. Ronny Cox and David Soul are the stand-out performances here.

The shoot-out in the end is quite graphic for TV standards. There were a few moments in the shoot-out where I was wondering how this film made it onto network television. And this was in the late 80's, way before shows like "The X-Files" and "ER" started to push the limits of graphic bloodletting. The climactic confrontation certainly isn't gratuitous, but it doesn't shy away from showing a little blood (as would be expected when shotguns, sub machine guns, and a dozen pistols are going off).

The film isn't perfect though. There are a few times where it feels like this was filmed in the early 80's. Shaky aerial shots support this noticeable flaw. It's hard to explain, but see it and you'll know what I mean. And the music is, at times, a little chintzy. Synthesizers in the 80's usually never helped a film to age well and it certainly shows in this case. Still, this did not detract too much from my satisfying viewing experience.

All-in-all though, highly recommended.

The In The Line of Duty series stands out as excellent - I was fortunate enough to watch a police training tape that re-enacted the infamous shootout upon which this movie is based. The movie itself is well acted and directed. The shootout at the end is pretty amazing - in fact, it shows a real double-standard on the part of network television - they'll cut a theatrical film to death, but if it's made for TV, they'll spice it up as much as they want. You won't believe your eyes as Michael Gross (Family Ties) and half of Starsky and Hutch (David Soul), play vicious robbers, who are finally caught up with by FBI agents, and engage them in a bloody shootout. Gross and Soul take hit after hit before going down, and taking two agents with them. (This isn't theatrics, by the way. Those two men were adrenalized, and determined to get away. They really did take a lot of hits) The tactical mistakes made by the agents that day have reshaped police training forever.

Most people tend to look down their noses at made-for-network TV movies. In fact, a rap against some theatrical films is that it plays "like a made-for-TV film". IN THE LINE OF DUTY: THE FBI MURDERS should take a backseat to no movie: network, cable or theatrical. Based on an actual FBI case, FBI MURDERS chronicles the attempts of the Bureau to capture two men who were going on a spree of murder and robbery across Florida in 1986. Eight agents shot it out with the two men. By the time the smoke cleared, two agents were dead and six were wounded before the robbers were taken down. The action in this film can stand side-by-side with such shoot 'em ups as HEAT (which was a remake of a made-for-network movie: LA TAKEDOWN), BONNIE AND CLYDE and TAXI DRIVER. What may come as a surprise is the actor playing one of the robbers. While David Soul has portrayed men on both sides of the law, it is the shock of seeing Michael Gross, best known for playing the ultraliberal Stephen Keaton on FAMILY TIES as the most vicious of the two crooks. I had the opportunity to go back and look at new articles about this case, one of the news photos is used as a shot in the film. The makers of this really did their homework. It was a shame that FBI MURDERS did not receive any Emmy nominations. Maybe someone will do a theatrical remake of it and cop some Oscars. If it can happen with HEAT, it can happen to this movie.

Finally out on DVD, fans of true crime dramas and action films will really enjoy this 1988 made-for-television production. Based on actual events in Miami, Florida (I'm not sure how embellished), "In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders concerns a pair of military trained bank- robbers and the FBI task force who attempted to identify and apprehend them. This is a far cry from the fictional movies that attempt to glorify G-Men or violent criminals.

Both sides are portrayed in their real life bumbling glory as the robbers act stupidly and recklessly and the task force basically stumbles into them and is ill prepared for the confrontation. But this makes the story quite fascinating and if you connect with it you will probably want to watch it several times.

The film is structured as two parallel stories and what suspense there is stems from the viewers knowledge that the two stories will eventually intersect with each other, you just don't know how or when it will occur.

The strength of the film (besides its real life feel) is the characterization of the two robbers, played by David Soul and Michael Gross. Although their backgrounds are fragmentary, it appears that they bring out the worst in each other and their crime spree continues more for the adrenaline rush it provides. They begin to really get off on the violence and power, their crimes are almost random which tends to work in their favor as the investigation can find little logic or pattern behind their activities.

The film's weakness is the parallel story of the task force. This was a far cry from a cerebral Sherlock Holmes type investigation so you eagerly wait for them to cut back to Soul and Grace. The characterizations are generally shallow and weak so almost all viewers will end up identifying with the two criminals; even though they have a lot of mad dog qualities. Doug Sheehan is quite effective as the task force commander but Bruce Greenwood and Ronny Cox (rookie paired with veteran) are painful to watch.

The violent climax is worth waiting for, although the violence is in real time, the confrontation has the slow-mo feel of a Sam Peckinpah production.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I first saw this TV movies years ago, and was as intrigued as everybody else by the casting of David Soul and Michael Gross.

Although I haven't seen it for some years, and didn't know the name, I felt compelled to hunt it down on IMDB to make a comment. As well as being outstanding in the action sequences, particularly the ultimate shootout, it was particularly notable for portraying the wrongdoers as unsentimental killers. These murders live with one years after having seen the movie. The makers achieve this not by lingering over the badness of the villains, but by showing them dispatching their victims lightly, unhesitatingly.

Good, skillful movie.