U.S. MARSHALS (Warner Bros.) Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Pantoliano, Irene Jacob. Screenplay: John Pogue. Producers: Arnold Kopelson and Anne Kopelson. Director: Stuart Baird. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, profanity) Running Time: 127 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Some articles about U.S. MARSHALS have been referring to it as a "sequel" to 1993's THE FUGITIVE; others have employed the more generous term "follow-up." But let's cut to the chase here...U.S. MARSHALS is a spin-off. In THE FUGITIVE, U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) was a supporting character in his businesslike pursuit of innocent afoot Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), providing counterpoint to the central story of Kimble's efforts to find his wife's killer and clear his name. Five years and a Supporting Actor Oscar later, Jones' Gerard has been deemed worthy of his own showcase while pursuing another accused murderer who maintains his innocence, former government agent Mark Sheridan (Wesley Snipes). Accompanied by his loyal team of fellow marshals and a mysterious tag-along Fed named Royce (Robert Downey Jr.), Gerard begins a man-hunt from the Midwest to Manhattan.
Before the word "spin-off" and its accompanying visions of "The Ropers" and "Joanie Loves Chachi" sends you into screaming early-80s flashbacks, it should be clear that there are far worse supporting characters around whom to build a story, and far worse actors. Jones slips back into Gerard's no-excuses professionalism without missing a beat, barking orders or wearing a big chicken costume with equal levels of commitment if that's what it takes to get the job done. It's not that Gerard doesn't work at all as a lead character; it's just that he worked so much better as a supporting character. Placing Gerard onboard during the plane crash where Sheridan escapes feels like a forced attempt to turn him into a super-cop, while motivating him with vengeance late in the film diminishes a character who's plenty motivated by pride in his work. Fiddling and fussing with Gerard ignores what was most interesting about him in THE FUGITIVE: his simple, uncomplicated, un-tormented intelligence and resolve as a law enforcement agent.
Still, he holds up his end of the chase far better than his adversary. THE FUGITIVE won over audiences by creating a rooting interest in Kimble, an Everyman trying to get his life back. Well, Sheridan is no Everyman -- he's "former Special Forces, former Black Ops" (and these days, what action film character worth his salt isn't?). That should make him a more challenging assignment for Gerard, except Sheridan never seems to be thinking hard enough or working hard enough to clear his name. Every time he turns up in U.S. MARSHALS, it's like the camera has just stumbled upon him, even as he hopes to just stumble upon whoever set him up. With energy diverted to making Gerard a more "well-rounded" character, Wesley Snipes is left to wander around the film like a half-forgotten plot device.
Director Stuart Baird, who created a solid but unspectacular action effort in EXECUTIVE DECISION, has done a similar job crafting the action in U.S. MARSHALS. With the exception of the big spectacular plane crash to match THE FUGITIVE's big spectacular train crash, he rarely goes out of his way to top his predecessor; the action simply moves along competently despite a few sluggish editing choices. Overall, however, U.S. MARSHALS just isn't a very smart film. Grainy flashbacks assume no one in the audience can remember back half an hour, characters are careless when it's convenient for them to be and a convoluted tangle of international espionage keeps distracting the audience from the mano-a-mano which should drive the story. Actually, THE FUGITIVE had a few similar problems, but it got you so involved in the characters that those problems were easy to overlook. U.S. MARSHALS is a generic vehicle patterned after a successful parent, one which doesn't use the characters the way they could be used best. That, my friends, is a spin-off. And one less like "Frasier" than it is like "AfterM*A*S*H."
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 marshal plans: 5.
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