Dead Bang

14. DEAD BANG (action, 1989) Det. Beck (Don Johnson) is an LA cop whose life is falling to pieces. His wife has just left and his hitting the bottle again. Assigned to a cop killing that seems routine, Beck sees his chance at redemption by immersing himself in the case. The murder has ties to a ruthless and tightly controlled Neo-Nazi sect. He starts a cross-country chase that inevitably leads him to rural America. With the help of an FBI agent, Beck is intent on exposing a network of ruthless criminals.

Critique: "An exercise in futility", that's how one critic summed up Don Johnson's acting. With a squeaky voice, boyish looks, and sparse acting (plus an endless array of 'cool' wardrobes), he became something of a cult favorite playing Det. Stubbs in the hit TV-show Miami Vice (1984-89). Since the end of that show, his movie career has been a total loss. . .well, almost.

At least he can look back proudly on his work in John Frankenheimer's 'Dead Bang': A slick, old style, slam-bang action film. Taking his Stubbs character to new heights (or lows for that matter) he plays the consummate 'burn-out cop'. He has been given a solid script to work from, professional direction by old-hand Frankenheimer, and a good supporting cast including John Forsythe as his FBI partner.

Supposedly based on the real life experiences of LA Det. Jerry Beck, this is Johnson's only film where he proved to be more than "an exercise in futility".

QUOTE: "I got a splitting' headache, I'm seeing double and. . .s#!t! I think I'm gonna throw up again."

Ignored, but lively and well-paced crime movie with D*n *o*nso* as the every-cliche-in-the-book burned out cop. He's on the edge! He doesn't play by the rules! He has a drink problem! His marriage is on the rocks! He's a gay Nazi! Well, maybe not the last one, but there's plenty of nasty Nazis in this to hiss at. They're none-too-bright though. Would they really risk murdering a bar full of people for no reason on the way to such an important meeting? The hero cop's beating of suspects is repugnant but the humour of the film is irresistible. Great scenes include the Sheriff (nobody f***s with him!), "Don't puke! Don't puke!", The psychiatrist (he looks just like Woody Allen!) and last, but no means least, the FBI stuffed-shirt ( he's a christian, no joke!)

The ending is a little routine but the rest rocks in an unassuming way.

Being a Don Johnson fan, I liked this film. It's also got a good director(John Frankenheimer). Johnson's a Dirty Harry-type cop this time with all the stereotypical trimmings of the role i.e. divorced, drinks, never sees his kids, no personal life etc. This movie's got action, it's witty, funny, satirical, and it's fact-based but it's not Serpico. William Forsythe is particularly laughable as an FBI straight-man.

Wow... what can I say? I wasn't much a fan of Don Johnson and didn't really care for the TV series "Miami Vice" (give me "Magnum P.I" any day). However John Frankenheimer seemed to be on somewhat of a run through the 80s with "The Challenge", "52- Pick-up", "Holcroft Covenant"... ah scrap that one. I guess he wasn't on much a run, but "Dead-Bang" surprised me just how much fun this durable, if offbeat pulp was. Predictable, but bold and ultra-fun law enforcement thriller. This was mainly due to Johnson's hard-nosed performance. Looking bemused and rather scruffy with a very witty script to work with as there were some hilarious lines of banter. The highlight would have to be Johnson's vomit sequence on a suspect after an exhausting chase and the unorthodox methods in getting the job done.

Jerry Beck is one burnt out L.A detective whose personal life is on the skids, so he lives for his job. Looking on a case involving the murder of a convenient store owner and cop, leads to something much bigger when he finds himself tailing a gang of murderous white supremacists to Colorado.

In all; it's dumb, crude, snappy and loud while containing white supremacists using automatic weapons but like a good Frankenheimer feature the violently hard-hitting action was well-staged, well-framed with its camera angles and it moved at a fast clip. The story is taken from Beck's true-life exploits of his novel, where we are taken for one hell of a ride as Frankenheimer really pushes it to the brink. When it came to showing off the film's firepower, it's an outrageous assault and ballsy in its execution.

William Forsythe can be just as amusing playing uptight, than say crazy (watch "Out for Justice" for that) as the FBI agent who gets on the wrong side of Beck. Penelope Ann Miller also seems to walk onto set; sweet talks Johnson and beds him to suddenly disappear. Was I missing something there? Quite an unnecessary sub-plot involving her character. Also making appearances are Bob Balaban, Tate Donovan, Mickey Jones, Brad Sullivan (the exchanges between him and Johnson were a treat "You don't need a gun chief. Just tell them who you are."), Tim Reid, William Taylor and Michael Jeter finding himself at the end of a Woody Allen joke.

"F**k you Sheriff! And your french fries"

John Frankenheimer really outdid himself when he directed this film. What an accomplishment from the director of Birdman Of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days In May, The Train and Black Sunday. Imagine a scene showing the films hero throwing up all over someone! What innovative filmaking. Seriously this is a typical cop thriller. Without the foul words it could have been an episode of Miami Vice. Don Johnson plays an alcoholic, down on his luck, loose cannon on the deck cop chasing white supremists through the Southwest. Johnson is an intense hero even if he isn't likeable in some ways. Theres a wonderful scene where he throws a fit after talking to his ex-wife. Theres a good foot chase involving several car accidents as well. My favorite part though is the one where he threatens the police shrink he compares to Woody Allen. I can understand why they never made Dead Bang 2 but this film is still worth your time if you like cop thrillers.