45 out of 45 people found this review helpful.
You're Beautiful! (Lean N' Mean 3 W/O )
Date of Review: Dec 1, 2004
The Bottom Line: 80's action film that's stood the test of time.
Write off detalils here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_4149256324 If you watch this film's trailer, you'd immediately get the sense of a fast lane action buddy cop film replete with car chases and gun action, with the strong 80's touch of extravagant chic sets and general style over substance- in other words: A Miami Vice knock-off. And you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd seen it all before.
However what the film actually delivers is an element of action movies that is rarely achieved- expect the unexpected. Our heroes jump into gun-battles with all that's gung ho about Hollywood, but this isn't that kind of film as our heroes frequently find themselves way over their heads. Our heroes plan ahead but nothing goes according to plan, because either the bad guys have planned ahead too, or simply because chaos ensues that the cops weren't expecting. Things are really on edge in this film and its all so entrapping and survivalist.
Despite a lot of the heavy MTV stylising of the film, the violence itself is 100% authentic. The unleashed rage of characters is played straight- it isn't stylised, it isn't sensationalised, glorified or judged, its just understood- the reality of rage, pain, death and survival instinct. Dare I say those moments feel like something out of a Takeshi Kitano film. Its something I completely lap up. Far too many action cop movies glorify police brutality with a kind of grotesque "show him who's boss" attitude forced down your throat. Here we see police brutality for what it is, how disgusting and dishonourable it really is to beat a captive prisoner and point a gun in their face to make sure they don't fight back.
William Petersen plays Richard Chance, an adrenaline junkie and a cop with a ruthless vendetta against the man who killed his former partner. He's an antihero, and totally morally ambiguous. There's a sense of liberation about his character. He is so shameless in his affectionate cameraderie with his partner, and never holds back. He is also free of moral constraints and brutally honest in his hatred of criminal scum and all who get in his way or refuse to stick with him. You feel free to support him or hate him, which is a rare and refreshing quality in these kinds of films.
John Pankov as his new partner is the human essense of the film. Whilst Richard Chance is the one who keeps brave, spirited and spontaneous whilst in deadly situations that would leave most people with shellshock, Pankov is well and truly shaken and terrified by the violence erupting around him. He essentially reinforces the reality and danger of the action to the audience. He is also the conscience of this morally ambiguous film.
Williem Dafoe plays the principal bad guy- a Keiser Sosae type. A man of lucrative tastes in art and pornography and pyromania. In his first scene he is making counterfeit money and he is doing it with authentic methods and with such gentle delicacy, that initially its hard to believe he's capable of such vile murderous acts. He is a vicious gangster who's near impossible to reach. As the cops try to find him, minor gangster characters try to kill him but he dispatches them ruthlessly, emphasising his superior killing skills and the danger our heroes are in and how there may be no happy ending at the end. A few bad one liners as he offs someone does little to dent his malevolent power.
Overall this is an intricate thriller, full of twists and a huge scope of the seedy city. It's a tense and unpredictable build up to a mostly satisfying ending, minus the cheesy last three minutes that go on a tangent hinting at naive hopes that a sequel or series would come of it. Still it's an 80's action classic that's unique enough to stand the test of time and remain thoroughly entertaining today and I can't deduct a star.
