U.S. Marshals (1998)
*** out of *****
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Pantoliano, Kate Nelligan, Irene Jacob Written by: John Pogue Directed by: Stuart Baird Running Time: 133 minutes
Stuart Baird, director of the vastly underrated Executive Decision, directs the sequel to 1993's The Fugitive. Tommy Lee Jones returns as Lt. Sam Gerard (and his entire supporting cast returns as well) to chase another innocent fugitive, played by Wesley Snipes. Snipes plays an ex-government agent who has been set-up for murder by corrupt government agents (ooo, shocking) and once again Gerard must chase after him.
U.S. Marshals is nowhere near as good as The Fugitive thanks to it's overused and predictable story. I mean, a government conspiracy? You mean there may be some corruption in government?? Also, all attempts to outdo the first film fall completely flat. For example, the train wreck and waterfall jump from the first film are superior in every way to the plane crash and building jump in this one. And despite the fact that we're told that Snipes is innocent, his character just isn't very compelling. Several times he is attempting to kill members of Gerard's team, including Gerard himself. Harrison Ford's character was never shooting at anyone. We're supposed to like this guy, and he's trying to kill the other people we're supposed to like as well.
The film certainly isn't dull, but you've seen all of it before. The direction is good and the acting is fine, it's just the story that fails. Also, the dialogue between Gerard and his team, which seemed so credible in the first film, seems so forced and phony here. If anything, U.S. Marshals will remain memorable to me thanks to Tommy Lee Jones' initial appearance, dressed as a giant chicken. It's definitely a sight to see, and the whole scene is just about worth the price of admission. [PG-13]
The Jacksonville Film Journal -- Film Reviews by Chuck Dowling URL: http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/ Email: chuckd21@leading.net
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