Truman, a Chicago cop, sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.Truman, a Chicago cop, sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.Truman, a Chicago cop, sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.
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You have Swayze of course as the lead, Helen Hunt as his love interest, and a relatively unknown Liam Neeson playing Swayze's older brother in a heroic role. Adam Baldwin, Ted Levine, Bill Paxton and a young Ben Stiller are in this movie as well. Out of the cast, Neeson's Briar is the most interesting character, and Neeson delivers the goods. Always worth checking out films you remember from your youth if you are someone like me, but this is just essentially a cheesy action film from the 80s that you can easily skip.
** out of *****!
John Irvin's atmospheric direction lifts the Patrick Swayze cop vehicle "Next of Kin" from routine programmer to sleeper status. Unfortunately, Warners' no-press-screenings play is indicative of this intriguing B+ picture getting the heave-ho in the marketplace.
Pic is of historical interest as the final film to go into production (August 1988) at Lorimar, while theindie was being swallowed by Warner Communications.
Interesting wrinkle in Michaei Jenning's screenplay (based on a script by Jenning and pic's associate producer, Jeb Stuart) is a mixing and matching of two ethnic strains of the vendetta: backwoods Appalachian version and revenge Sicilian-style.
These plot threads ar4e set in motion when Bill Paxton, a Kentucky boy from the hills now working in Chicago, is ruthlessly murdered by mafia enforcer Adam Baldwin as part of a strong-arm move in the vending machines racket. Paxton's older brother, Patrick Swayze, is a Chicago cop determined to find the killer.
Interfering with Swayze's efforts is the old-fashioned "eye for an eye" vengeance demanded by eldest brother Liam Neson. Picture climaxes with an elaborate war ina Chicago cemetery between Baldwin's mafioso and Neesons Kentucky kin, matching automatic weaponry with primitive (but reliable crossbows, hatchets, snakes and knives. Treachery on the Cosa Nostra side brings out a parallel "next of kin" subplot that concludes the film effectively.
Director Irvin's technical skill and Steven Poster's muted-color photgraphy bring out th4e flavor of both Kentucky and Chicago locations, with consistent tongue-in-cheek eleents (and ouright comic relief by the delightful Michael J. Pollard) balancing the film noir mood.
Swayze is solid as the mixed-motives hero, and inspired casting teams him with Irish thesp Neeson, most convincing as a tghrowback whose fish-ou-of-water misadventures in Chicago are a treat. Cast against type, Baldwin, the hulking youngster, familiar from "My Bodyguard", builds a fascinating portrait of evil lurking behind the innocent face. Supporting cast is convincing and physicaly perfect.
Swayze is a citified hillbilly. We know they've civilized him because he pulls his mullet back into a fashionable ponytail. Neeson is not civilized. We know this because he wears a dirty baseball cap at all times, even when he has on a suit. Helen Hunt is Swayze's city wife. She plays the violin, which Swayze's hillbilly kin refer to as the fiddle. Rest assured, this movie never misses a chance to traffic in clichés.
The action is so-so and the performances are about what you would expect. Swayze takes his part very seriously. Adam Baldwin seems to know the score and hams it up appropriately as the villain. There are many quotable lines, which is the mark of a good cheesy action movie. It's not at the top of my list of great '80s actioners but it's worth checking out anyway.
Watch this film and enjoy.
Did you know
- TriviaThe phone number Briar, played by Liam Neeson, gives to Harold the hotel clerk, played by Michael J Pollard, is an active number in Kentucky.
- GoofsDuring the shootout in the mob's office, Briar fires a shotgun at the first mobster who enters, knocking the man back and killing him. Yet there are no pellet holes in his clothing and no blood anywhere to indicate he was hit.
- Quotes
Truman Gates: They're coming for you, Willy. I know you'll take a couple of them with you for sure, but they'll take you just the same. Or we can take a ride to the station together, just a couple of boys from the hills. You got my word on that. I know you ain't scared to die, Willy. But this ain't no place to leave your ghost.
- SoundtracksBrothers
Written and Performed by Larry Gatlin & Patrick Swayze
- How long is Next of Kin?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $15,942,628
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,805,516
- Oct 22, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $15,942,628
- Runtime
- 1h 48m(108 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1