Code of Silence (1985)

Too much of everything

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Plot: A Chicago cop is caught in a middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.This is easily my favorite Chuck Norris film to date, the story is very well told by director Andrew Davis showing what he always did best throughout his directing career and that's knowing how to blend tension and action very well in his films.Chuck Norris is at his best here as Eddie Cusack a cop who doesn't always follow orders as he should but respects the law as evidenced during certain sections in the film. Henry Silva does such a great job as the villain just like he did in Above the Law, you even have a Fun supporting turn by Dennis Farina who was an actual cop when he filmed this before he eventually started his acting career.Another thing to mention is the great score by David Michael Frank who like he did in the underrated Showdown in Little Tokyo composed an upbeat and memorable score that I certainly won't forget.Code of Silence is a slick, decent paced, action flick filled with great action scenes, very good tension, a great score, and a well-executed story that makes it my favorite Chuck Norris film to date. If you haven't checked this out, please do you won't regret it.

OK I know Chuck Norris isn't the best actor in the business but he's good enough to be convincing. This is the same director who brought us The Fugitive, which was a hit thriller, and Under Siege, a successful Seagal action/Thriller. Is Steven Seagal a better actor than Chuck Norris?!! I don't think so. Norris aside the movie has a gripping story, interesting characters, and a good build up. The ending is a little cliché with the typical one man army thing but its a solid thriller. My only complaint is there just wasn't enough spin kicks and roundhouses to suit my tastes for a Chuck movie. Let me give a message to all the Chuck non-believers. If you don't like him so much then ignore the fact that he is Chuck Norris and focus more on the characters and the story. Sheesh! Anyways it was great but nowhere near as exciting as Lone Wolf McQuade which is probably my favorite movie of his.

In 1985 Chicago cops like Sergeant Eddie Cusack (Chuck Norris) attempt to keep the streets clean of drug-pushing scum. His opponent in this drug war is none other than Luis Comacho (Henry Silva, in one of his token drug lord roles, commanding his legion of dregs, provided with plenty of miscreants for Norris to obliterate) who wants to monopolize the drug trade and needs to rid himself of the man standing in his way, Tony Luna (Mike Genovese). Eddie wants to find Tony Luna as well, but finds the Comacho family a major thorn in his side as they start gunning down any member of the Luna crime family, including the man's own wife and daughters. Eddie tries to keep one of Tony's daughters, Diana (Molly Hagan), safe from harm but Luis will not make that easy. Plain and simple, Luis wants Tony dead—and that includes all his offspring, not one Luna left alive. That's only part of Eddie's nagging problems. Like many of these 70s/80s cop movies, Eddie is breaking in a new, green partner, Nick (Joe Guzaldo) so training such a young man can carry a heavy burden (most of the time, Chuck tells him to stay in the car, though). Even worse, Nick sees an old veteran on Eddie's tactical team, Cragie (Ralph Foody), shoot an innocent kid, during a big shakedown with police chasing hoods in the Chicago streets, stunned and disturbed. Cragie plants a gun on the kid and claims it was self-defense, with Nick caught in a dilemma—should he tell the truth at the hearing for Cragie regarding what he truly saw (Cragie, of course, sticks to the story that he was only defending himself) or lie so that his cop brethren will not turn their backs on him. Eddie, a true man of honor and valor, tells Nick he should tell the truth and is honest during the hearing about wanting Cragie off his tactical unit. So when Eddie wages war with Comacho, his own police officers won't back him up, a code of silence prevailing so that Cragie remains a pillar among his cop peers. As a Norris vehicle, CODE OF SILENCE would probably have to be considered one of Chuck's finest action movies. He gets to use his fists, feet, police issued gun, and shot gun, and has a worthy adversary in Silva who gleefully smirks as his men finish off an entire family, four women among the slaughtered. Silva also serviced another Andrew Davis actioner with Steven Seagal as the cop hero and he once again as a crime kingpin, in ABOVE THE LAW. Lots of familiar faces in the cast, such as Dennis Farina and Bert Remsen, as cops. The Chicago street locations are always an asset in regards to cop dramas; the authenticity of city streets and the local color which occupy them only add weight to the storyline. Chuck's one man army act is once again used in an action film for which he stars, except this time he has an armored police tank which comes in handy when you need to take out thirty people in a giant warehouse. If you enjoy seeing men exploding through pallets or sent hurling fifty feet in the air after being hit by small missiles, this is your movie. And, of course, you have the standard bar fight where Chuck must combat like fifteen people, most of which outweigh him, as a pleased Silva looks on from a distance, enjoying the fact that even a warrior like Eddie has his limitations. Silva, who snarls and spits venom with the best villains, has a field day, while Chuck keeps a face of seriousness and determination.

And a sentimental favorite of mine because I love movies shot in my hometown, Chicago.Norris was never better than he is in this film, which would easily work with another lead. It's that good. It's not a schlock action hero vehicle for a non-actor champion of a physical sport.It moves at a terrific pace. There's not a wasted shot, and it uses its local cast and locations well in setting the mood and telling the story. It's about a drug bust gone bad and the war between rival mobsters that results. Norris is the undercover cop who singlehandedly ends the war and brings the bad guys down.Look for John Mahoney in an early film role (okay, a bit part) and a great fight sequence atop a moving El train.No kidding. this is a terrific action film.