Força Excessiva

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.

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.

Thomas Ian Griffith seems to be a better actor then screenplay writer, because the story is somewhat forgetful, the story centers around Terry McCain, A tough Dirty Harry like cop. who beats a confession out of witness in order to put a mob boss(Burt Young) away for life. But the mob boss, gets off due to Terry's excessive antics on a witness. But the heat really gets turned up on Terry, when the mob boss turns up dead, and Terry becomes the main suspect. Thomas Ian Griffith may seem like another Steven Seagal, but unlike Steven Seagal, Thomas Ian Griffith is an action hero who can act, and unlike Steven Seagal's characters, Thomas Ian Griffith made the character of Terry McCain, more human then one dymentional. Despite good acting by Thomas Ian Griffith,and good martial arts scenes. The story is very forgetful.

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.

The most interesting thing about this film is that it failed to lauch a leading man career for Thomas Ian Griffith. Griffith had a starring role as the villain in 1989's The Karate Kid Part III. I remember at the time seeing the trailers for this that I wasn't surprised to see the actor who brought the terrifying Terry Silver to life being given his own film. It seemed like an obvious move. He had good looks, impressive physical martial arts skills, and was a charismatic actor as well. So why did it bomb at the box office? Having just re-watched the film, these are my thoughts.

It's just not a good movie for one. Excessive Force is what is known as a "star vehicle." A film written solely to cater to an actor's strengths. Interestingly this vehicle was written by the star himself. The real problem is the film's premise, so it was doomed from the start. Griffith should have starred in a martial arts themed movie rather than a karate cop crime thriller. Just imagine if Jean Claude Van Damme had tried to start his movie career in a cop thriller where he does spin kicks rather than the martial arts tournament films Bloodsport and Kickboxer. He may never have had a career. Griffith was trained in taekwondo, which specializes in kicks and especially head kicks. I lost count of how many spinning hook kicks Griffith used to defeat an enemy in this movie. It just doesn't seem as tough or as useful as Steven Seagal's aikido strikes and joint locks. Something should have been mentioned about how unusual it is for a six and a half foot tall cop to be karate kicking crooks all over town. But as I mentioned earlier, the story is the real problem.

Terry (the same name he had in The Karate Kid Part III) is involved in an action scene in the beginning before we even know a thing about him. And we never really do learn who he is. He plays the piano, he dresses stylishly, and he's a cop. We don't really know much else. Griffith's height was a bit of a problem for him being a leading man. He towers over everyone else. He really does seem better suited for the role of the villain. The supporting cast really help this film and it's worth watching for Lance Hendrickson, Tony Todd, and James Earl Jones. I should also mention Burt Young who made a good mobster, but is sadly not in the movie enough. That also hurt the movie, that as the layers of the plot unfold, the bad guys keep changing.

If you like violent rated R action movies I think you will like this one. It's just a missed opportunity more than anything. If they wanted Griffith to play a cop then they should have cut back on the taekwondo, maybe had him take out the dangling earring, and not make him so chic looking. He would have been better off with the slicked back Seagal style haircut he had in The Karate Kid Part III rather than the feathered styled look he had here. He just doesn't look tough. He looks like a model.