dead - bang , an action thriller starring don johnson , lives up to its dumb title , or at least to half of it .
although dead - bang is definitely dead , it is anything but a bang ; in fact , they should have called this one " dead bore .
" in the film , johnson plays .
. .
you guessed it . . .
a cop .
the role must have been really challenging for johnson since his character , jerry beck , is a gritty los angeles homicide detective , a real stretch from the slick vice detective johnson portrayed on " miami vice .
" a la mel gibson in lethal weapon , beck is an emotional wreck , complete with violent outbursts , unscrupulous police methods , and a bleak outlook on life .
beck 's wife has just divorced him , and she is cutting him off from their children .
she will not even allow him to wish them " merry christmas " by telephone .
but beck 's family and emotional problems take a back seat to the action and thrills in dead - bang .
beck is investigating the brutal murders of a shopkeeper and a cop .
his investigation starts in l . a . and finally culminates and climaxes in oklahoma , where he has a violent showdown with the killers at a white supremacist camp .
virtually every aspect of dead - bang is inept and ineffective .
the plot is incoherent and full of holes .
the movie depicts beck 's investigation so clumsily that you never see the connections between his clues and his conclusions .
the action sequences in dead - bang are strictly third - rate , and the movie has absolutely no momentum or suspense .
i certainly expected more from long - time director john frankenheimer who directed the classic political thriller , the manchurian candidate -- as well as black sunday , seven days in may , and the french connection ii .
in all fairness to frankenheimer , however , i should note that most of dead - bang 's shortcomings seem to stem from its shabby script rather than from the direction .
dead - bang tries to don a mask of social relevance by incorporating themes of racism and white supremacy , but its efforts are nothing more than token gestures and nothing less than insulting .
according to the movie 's production notes , dead - bang is based on the real - life experiences of still - active detective jerry beck .
you would never guess this from watching dead - bang , however , since the film totally lacks credibility ; it is utterly unconvincing and unbelievable .
most of the characters in dead - bang are either atrociously acted , underdeveloped , superfluous , or all of the above .
william forsythe , for example , is painfully bad as arthur kressler , a wholesome by - the - book fbi agent who 's offended by beck 's foul language and unorthodox methods .
forsythe 's lame performance and corny dialogue makes his character unbearable
.
dead - bang marks the motion picture debut of tim reid ( " wkrp in cincinnati " and " frank 's place " ) , but his talents are completely wasted in a cliched and contrived role ; he plays the chief officer of a squadron of black cops who help beck to nail the villains .
the sole function of penelope ann miller 's character is to give dead - bang an excuse to include a gratuitous love scene between characters about whom you could not care less .
i guess the film 's title refers to this love scene since
it 's definitely a dead bang .
the only real virtue of dead - bang , believe it or not , is don johnson , who tries to overcome the limitations of the movie 's pitiful script .
johnson succeeds in giving his character a sarcastic sense of humor and a hint of depth , and his pessimistic wisecracks occasionally bring the film to life .
and i must admit that dead - bang does have one or two amusing moments .
the funniest scene has johnson throwing - up all over a criminal as he interrogates him .
but when barf is the highlight of a movie , you know the movie 's in trouble .
the other amusing scene involves a psychological examination of beck , in which he ca n't keep a straight face because the psychiatrist resembles woody allen .
but two funny scenes and a couple good wisecracks do not a movie make .
Output: N