U.S. Marshals (1998)
Director: Stuart Baird Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr., Irene Jacob, Joe Pantoliano Screenplay: John Pogue Producers: Anne Kopelson, Arnold Kopelson Runtime: US Distribution: Warner Bros. Rated PG-13: Action violence, language
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)
For three and a half years, I've been saying, "What's the big deal about The Fugitive?" I never really knew. Now that I've seen U.S. Marshals, I think I finally understand. I can't fathom why the Kopelsons chose this complicated, convoluted, and often strikingly uninteresting script to carry the sequel to one of 1994's biggest films. This is a long film, and it doesn't need to be. There are a lot of characters, and there don't have to be. On top of all this, the basic framework for U.S. Marshals is basically identical to that of The Fugitive, which takes the film dangerously close to the level of "rip-off" rather than "sequel."
One of the seventeen main characters is Sheridan, played by Wesley Snipes. He is a tow truck driver, but only in the beginning. Later, he is arrested and charged with the murder of two secret agents. So, he gets stuck on a plane. Conveniently, U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) is also on that plane, but because of another prisoner that he captured in the obligatory introduction-action sequence (the one that shows us our hero doing his best).
The plane crashes. Sheridan escapes. Gerard is allowed to say his line from the first film: "We've got a fugitive!" This is about thirty minutes into the story. Sequences shortly after this take place in a swamp, and there are moments when Sheridan takes people hostage while Gerard has him at gun point and could just shoot him in the face without harming anyone.
We learn of new characters. Robert Downey, Jr. plays agent John Royce who is forced into Gerard's team despite Gerard's protest. This leads to an involvement with Royce's employers, who turn out to be somehow related to Sheridan, and this opens up a subplot involving a murderous Chinese diplomat. Oh, and let's not forget the other U.S. Marshals, for whom the film is named: Joe Pantoliano, whom I like, reprises his role from the first film; there are, in actuality, about five Marshals in the film, and all of them are given too much screen time for me to have not remembered their names just one day later.
Sheridan has a girlfriend, Marie. Marie is played by the wonderful Irene Jacob. I'm not sure why the character is in the film, though, and Jacob's considerable talent is wasted (though she does make her scenes easy on the eyes).
U.S. Marshals didn't strike me as a goofy movie as I watched it, but I think of it that way in retrospect. The story is silly and complicated for no reason. It's not even very plausible. Not only that, but the makers don't trust the audience: when Gerard makes an important revelation towards the end of the film, we are force-fed a flashback of an earlier scene in the film that provides information needed to solve the puzzle.
The action sequences are good. I liked the scenes taking place in a home for old folks, and that sequence culminates with a leap, from a roof onto a train, that is truly spectacular (although you can see that in the preview). I also liked the acting. Jones is charismatic and continues in the manner than got him an Oscar for the same role in the earlier film. Snipes makes a good hero, although our sympathy is torn because his character is too complicated for easy audience involvement. The other Marshals are all nice, and the bad guys are adequately bad, but everything here tastes a little too familiar.
Harrison Ford is basically what makes The Fugitive a good movie. He played a nice, normal guy (I even remember his character's name, and I haven't seen the film in years) with whom everyone can identify. We really wanted to see him succeed. But Sheridan is a special forces agent--there is really no suspense in his situation, and almost no payoff in the conclusion. And, by the end of the film, director Stuart Baird has truly lost sight of what the film is--and should--be about: Gerard chases Sheridan.
This isn't a terrible or even extremely mediocre film. As a strict action film, this one has good acting and nice set-pieces. But what about the story? What about the involving characters that made the original film a satisfying and entertaining picture? That's what got lost in this sequel. U.S. Marshals has too much plot on which it must focus, and ends up flailing wildly and not really getting anywhere.
**1/2 out of **** (6/10, C+)
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Nathaniel R. Atcheson
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