Zero Tolerance

Though I will always recognize PM Entertainment and director Joseph Merhi for being the main producers of karate B-movies from the 1990s, a flick like ZERO TOLERANCE reminds me that they were in fact more versatile when it came to the action department. This is an ambitious, occasionally cool but ultimately mild shoot-em-up picture that foolishly takes a "less is more" method when it would have been better off embracing excess. Particular fans of Robert "T-1000" Patrick may apply.

The story: When his family is murdered and his own life endangered by a powerful drug cartel, an FBI agent (Patrick) becomes a vigilante deadest on revenge.

As much as I like ol' Joe Merhi, I wish that a more inventive director had helmed this one and brought more life to the potential-filled plot. PM regularly made films that were a lick or two above the dramatic average of competitors, but here, it unsuccessfully attempts to navigate a precisely-balanced screenplay. John Flynn or Andrew Davis might have taken the screenplay and coordinated it into an escalating action-thriller, whereas Merhi bloats the first half of the picture with plot while skimping on action, then reverses the formula for the second half. It's a competent film, definitely, but the dramatic scenes appear awkwardly-placed and the actors often underwhelm in their performances.

Action-wise, the movie does well enough but could achieve more. Much to my surprise, there was a smattering of fight scenes, though none of them particularly stood out. The highlights are several exhibitions of bullet ballet, clearly modeled after John Woo's output. Viewed in a vacuum, the handful of large-scale shootouts is furious and entertaining. However, other films have had better results in westernizing the HARD BOILED standard: NEMESIS and even HARD JUSTICE are both relatively cheap films that alternatively did a better job of aping Woo's style and improvising with the resources they had. ZERO TOLERANCE features occasionally cool stuntwork and a handful of unique guns, but I've seen much better.

Strong production values are balanced out by a surprisingly grim tone, making this an interesting action flick to watch but not necessarily a fun one. I declare it to be on the low side of average: worth catching on TV, maybe worth renting digitally, but probably not worthy of purchase.

Zero Tolerance stars Robert Patrick as an FBI man with wife played by real life wife Barbara Patrick and two children. He gets an assignment to bring back from Mexico a notorious drug lord in Titus Welliver.

Things start to pop and don't let up for a minute when Welliver escapes custody with Patrick's two other agents and a whole lot of Welliver's men escape.

Welliver then gets the brilliant idea to take Patrick's family hostage and then confront Patrick and force him to take him across the border under the guise of custody, Welliver and a whole lot of illegal heroin. Works too and then he kills Patrick's family and nearly blows Patrick up in a limousine.

After that it's personal as Patrick whom we see a hint of his violent nature during Welliver's escape, goes full blown Rambo. The body count may run into triple digits. Did Sly Stallone ever do that well? Patrick is after the rest of Welliver's associates a five member board of a drug gang known as the White Hand. Do we have to ask if he succeeds?

If you like chase scenes, lots of bloody violence, and plenty of action you'll love Zero Tolerance. Makes one overlook a whole lot of flaws in the writing and the direction.

ZERO TOLERANCE was a recent "bargain bin" DVD purchase and in all honesty I threw it into the player this weekend as an antidote after watching "World Trade Center," figuring that after watching such a heavy-duty drama I needed to see something empty-headed as a chaser. In that regard, ZERO TOLERANCE didn't disappoint. It's a by-the-numbers revenge fantasy whose "plot" (scumbag drug dealers kill an FBI agent's family, so he goes rogue and hunts them down one by one) was probably written on a cocktail napkin, but there's so much wall to wall violence, carnage, and gunfire going off during its short running time that you barely have time to notice how silly the whole thing is. Robert Patrick of "Terminator 2" fame plays our FBI hero, who racks up some pretty impressive frequent flyer miles as he criss crosses the country picking off the heads of the "White Hand" drug cartel in Las Vegas, in New Orleans, and all points in between. My wife and I found it extremely funny after a while that there are dozens and dozens of goons firing thousands of rounds of ammunition at our hero throughout this movie and none of them even come close to hitting him, meanwhile Patrick can pop up from his hiding spots with two nine-millimeters clutched in his hands, fire off two shots at a time, and yet he hits his target every time. I didn't bother to try and keep a body count for this movie but I'm sure the grand total must've been astronomical. Nothing here hasn't already been done before in countless other shoot-em-up action movies like the "Death Wish" or "Punisher" films (to name but a few) but it sure is a fun ride while it's playing! If you find "Zero Tolerance" for less than five bucks (like I did) then by all means, take the ride.

Cool action B movie from the 90's with Robert Patrick

ZERO TOLERANCE: It is a simple tale about one man's crusade for vengeance.

Jeff Douglas (Robert Patrick) is a young FBI agent who must transport a vicious psychopathic drug dealer, Ray Manta (Titus Welliver) from Mexico back to a federally sanctioned prison somewhere in the United States. Everything seems well until Jeff and his cohorts realize that on the trip back, they are being followed by a gang of motorcycle riding killers. Before long, these FBI agents are caught in a barrage of gunfire...

When the smoke clears, Douglas discovers that his friends have been gunned down. What's even worse...the prisoner has escaped! When Jeff returns to the United States, he finds out that his innocent family has been held ransom at gunpoint by a sinister drug cartel known as the "White Hand." The White Hand is a powerful drug conglomerate that is controlled by five "mainstream" businessmen: Vitch (Mick Fleetwood), Kowalski (Miles O'Keffe), LaFluer (Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter), Lee (Gustav Vintas), and...Ray Manta. This drug cartel is responsible for the distribution of a powerful new merchandise known as "liquid heroin." The White Hand demands that Douglas pose as a "courier" so that he can transfer a suitcase full of money back to Las Vegas. Douglas must comply to the White Hand's demand, or else...they will permanently execute his entire family...

Seeing that the White Hand refuses to keep their part of the bargain, they order their henchmen to assassinate Douglas's wife (Wendy Patrick) and children anyway. Meanwhile, Douglas delivers the requisite suitcase to Vegas, but he finds himself to be a moving target... Barely surviving the White Hand's sabotage, Douglas tries to contact his family, making sure that they are in one piece. When Douglas learns that all of his family members have ended up in body bags, hell have no fury like an ex-FBI agent scorned...

Jeff Douglas has a new mission now: To avenge the loss of his family by waging war against the entire White Hand clan. He plans on terminating the White Hand, one member at a time. As this film will prove, Douglas must take revenge into his own hands. For him, revenge is just another name for justice...

ZERO TOLERANCE is an action-packed, thrill-to-the-minute adventure that will certainly satisfy the most hard-core fans of this genre. This film is definitely head above water when compared to other direct to video drivel. The action is surprisingly unpredictable and the explosive firepower keeps this film moving at a breathtakingly rapid pace. ZERO TOLERANCE is mindless, fast-paced fun.

Granted, the premise for ZERO TOLERANCE is strikingly familiar: A loner decides that he must avenge the deaths of his loved ones. However, what truly places this motion picture above films of comparable characteristics is the main character, well played by Robert Patrick. The viewer is made to understand all of the torment the main character must go through after losing the only ones he cares about. The flashbacks are well made, showing how this "vigilante" was once a loving family man. The viewer could actually sense how much pain this hero is going through. To him, the loss of his family is his own personal hell. Tough character actor Robert Patrick (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY) does an admirable job portraying this hard-boiled soul bent on vengeance.

Unfortunately, the rest of the performances in this film are a mixed bag. Titus Welliver is convincingly bad-to-the-bone as the prime antagonist. However, two of his cohorts, former rock star Mick Fleetwood and the star of the "Ator" (ha, ha) movies, Miles O'Keefe are rather mundane and stereotypical. Kristen Meadows tries her best as another FBI agent who is sympathetic to Douglas, but sadly for her, she is little more than a ransom victim for the bad guys. Another significant setback for ZERO TOLERANCE is that it virtually features ZERO plot revelations. This movie is very much run-of-the-mill, and though the action will keep you riveted, the plot lacks sophistication and depth. With the exception of Douglas, the rest of the characters are created in a by-the-book style.

If you are the typical action fan looking only for brisk thrills, then you probably do not care much about plot and characters. Well, I will say this, you have picked the right selection. ZERO TOLERANCE is the consummate action thriller. The fantastic excitement will most likely knock your shoes off. This PM Entertainment Group (who has made five dozen or so other "action" pictures) motion picture will not dissatisfy you with its abundance of leaping stuntmen, exploding objects, and awesome editing. Two examples of adroitly directed action scenes are the ambush at the beginning and the shoot-out in Las Vegas. This movie will make John Woo proud. Speaking of John Woo, some action scenes in this movie though seem to be TOO inspired by the works of John Woo. Take for example, the beginning of ZERO TOLERANCE where the main hero shoots it out with a gang of gun-wielding motorcyclists. If you saw the Hong Kong film, HARD-BOILED (directed by John Woo), then you will know what I am talking about. Anyway, with that said, adrenaline addicts will cherish this fast moving thrill-ride.

ZERO TOLERANCE is definitely one of the Pepin-Merhi duo's best films to date. Taken at face value, ZERO TOLERANCE is pure entertainment, PM style. Slick action scenes, decent production values, and proficient cinematography highlight this rather exciting motion picture. ZERO TOLERANCE may not have enough profundity to be considered a first-class B-movie, but it is a fine film nonetheless, with a strong, solid performance by Robert Patrick and some really neat action sequences and stunts. Trigger-happy fans will most likely remain contented. ZERO TOLERANCE is an underrated and overlooked thriller. If you ever get the chance to see this movie, I suggest you do.

RATING: *** out of ****.