NO MAN'S LAND
A film review by Clark Quinn
Copyright 1987 Clark Quinn
Once you get a taste
of the good life
it's hard to let go.
Even if your life depends on it.
Starring: Charlie Sheen, D. B. Sweeney, Randy Quaid Written by: Dick Wolf Music Score by: Basil Poledouris Executive Producers: Ron Howard and Tony Ganz Producers: Joseph Stern and Dick Wolf Director: Peter Werner
The idea is a good one: a young cop, given a tricky undercover assignment, finds it hard to separate the good guys from the bad guys in a world that's not black and white. I haven't seen it done before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done; as I understand it, the current television show WISEGUY has the same basic plot. The question is, how well have they dealt with it here?
D. B. Sweeney is the young cop from a nice family. He is well-liked although a bit naive. He is also a good Porsche mechanic. Randy Quaid thinks this makes him an ideal candidate to be the inside man in an investigation of a car theft ring that has already lead to a policeman being killed. Charlie Sheen is the young, charming, and rich owner of the Porsche repair shop that is the front for the car theft ring. He may also be the man that killed the policeman.
Unfortunately, the plot moves predictably. The young cop is seduced by the fancy lifestyle, the charm of the Porsche shop owner, and the fragile beauty of a young woman from the new life. He questions whether he is after the wrong man. The ending was telegraphed long before the final resolution. I'm afraid that the director (Peter Werner, who I am not familiar with) was working with a story that needed some unusual twists. Instead, we are given cliches. The charming owner just happens to have a beautiful sister who falls for the young mechanic. Of course there is a bad cop. A car chase. And a rival car theft gang who are much less savory than the upstanding group who support the infiltrated ring.
Yet, there are saving graces in this movie. Werner has a nice feel for the bravado banter of young men living on the edge. He captures the excitement and the danger of living in the fast lane and working on the wrong side of the line. The tension in the scenes where the two young men are actually stealing the cars was almost palpable. Even the obligatory car chase had moments of humor and, yes, subtlety. The story moves swiftly (sometimes too swiftly) and maintains a reasonable level of excitement. Also, the characterizations are quite believable. Sheen has just the proper edge as a jaded, wealthy young man with too much freedom. Sweeney not only looks the part but manages to act convincing as the young cop with divided loyalties. Quaid gives to a small part a credible interpretation.
Overall, the unoriginality of the story detracts from a stylish presentation, leaving me no recourse but to give the film a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Clark N. Quinn clark%ics@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu OR {ucbvax,decvax,akgua,dcdwest}!sdcsvax!sdics!clark.uucp
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