Against the Law (1997)

Fantastic!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

A young man claims to be the fastest gun out there and he's headed to California in hopes of becoming famous. A city cop gets labeled a hero after gunning down a notorious drug dealer and he doesn't want the fame he's getting. A news reporter is caught in the middle and the gun slinger asks her to set up a standoff at high noon with the infamous cop.Very silly story. Poor Jim Wynorsky has made some bad films, but I think this is the worst non skin-flick type of his I have seen. Richard Grieco reminded me of a poor mans Michael Madsen. Billy Gallo did good on here, always liked him. Nancy Allen played the reporter here and did okay and Jamie Pressly did good in a small part, but Nick Mancuso was really truly amazing and the only reason to watch this movie.I wouldn't advise anyone to watch it. Its a pretty horrible movie. Lots of bad acting, stupid dialog by most and the worst case of blank bullets I have ever seen. It's very slow and painful to set through.One message I liked was that this cop killed a man and didn't want to be treated like a hero for it, cause taking another mans life doesn't make you a great person.2/10 stars

This film caught me off guard when it started out in a Cafe located in Arizona and a Richard Grieco,(Rex),"Dead Easy",'04, decides to have something to eat and gets all hot and bothered over a very hot, sexy waitress. While Rex steps out of the Cafe, he sees a State Trooper and asks him,"ARE YOU FAST?" and then all hell breaks loose in more ways than one. Nancy Allen (Maggie Hewitt),"Dressed to Kill,",'80, is a TV reporter and is always looking for a news scoop to broadcast. Maggie winds up in a hot tub and Rex comes a calling on her to tell her he wants a show down, Western style, with the local top cop in town. This is a different film, however, Nancy Allen and Richard Grieco are the only two actors who help this picture TOGETHER!

While surfing, I got hooked about mid-way thru the opening credits. Low-budget, yes -- but full of neat twists. Nick Mancuso is wonderful as a burnt-out cop, smoking, drinking, snarling at authority. Richard Geico looks like a beefy Mickey Rourke, spiky hair and all, and makes a good heavy. Both keep their characters and the story spinning.... One of the best things: no stopping action for sex (just watch Mancuso turn down a former lover).

An unusually straight-faced actioner played by a cast and filmed by a director who obviously took the material seriously. Imperfect, as is to be expected from a film clearly shot on a tight budget, but the drama is involving-- it's one of those films that when it gets repeated ad nauseum on Cinemax 2 or More Max or whatever they call it, you end up watching 40 minute blocks when you're supposed to be going to work. Along W/ "Deathstalker 2", "Chopping Mall", and "The Assault", a reminder that Wynorski is a much more talented director than many of his fellow low-budget brethern, who has a real ability to pace a genre film, when he actually's interested in the material (i.e., don't bother watching any of his Shannon Tweed flicks with a 3 or a 4 after the title!) Actors who've had too little to do recently (Mancuso, Ford, even Gary Sandy for chrissakes) really put their all into some of their best roles in years -- as for Grieco, he has the right look, although his acting is a bit one-note -- it's clear his character is supposed to be self-destructing throughout the film, but Grieco doesn't quite convey it. I checked IMDB and I see the writer also wrote "Sorority House Massacre 2" & "Dinosaur Island" for the director -- both minor classics in their own rights, but obviously "silly" Roger Cormon-like Cinema -- this one's more like some of the better Jonathan Demme and Jonathan Kaplan B-pictures of the 70's -- giving you the exploitation element but offering involving drama at the same time -- a real step forward. Not "Citizen Kane," and the comic final moments are a bit disruptive, but a well-written, character-driven above-average straight-to-video actioner. Small achievements like this should not be overlooked when they come along, which is rare enough (as I was reminded as I tried to sit through an Albert Pyun monstrosity called "Heatseeker" the other night -- this low-budget stuff isn't as easy as it looks -- but that's another story!)