Malevolent (2002)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Better Late Then Never

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

... I have to say, this picture really holds your interest. You really feel for the detective being framed.The acting was great. I was at every turn and twist in the movie,glued to my seat anticipating the next move of the murder suspect and the Detective. You really want to kill this guy and get to the bottom of the crime. Also haven't seen such great car chase scenes since " Bullitt" and "The French Connection" Maybe I'm dating myself, but I will leave it up to everyone else.I would have given it a 10 rating ,but I missed a few minutes getting the "Popcorn"...

Jack Lucas (LDP) is an LAPD cop on the edge. Putting him even closer to the edge of the edge is the fact that a psychotic criminal mastermind is trying to frame him for a series of murders. The obnoxious and annoying Oliver "Ollie" Chadwicke (Ballerini) has it in for Lucas and is going to slyly and shrewdly send him up the river. Fighting for his life against the bogus charges actually perpetrated by Chadwicke, Lucas must use his wits to defeat him at his own game. Teaming up with a stripper with a heart of gold, Jessica (Wuhrer), as well as his father, Warren (Argenziano), Lucas must not only defend himself against Chadwicke, but from the mistrust growing amongst his co-workers. Especially with Captain Pruitt (Bauer) breathing down his neck. Will Lucas get justice? Malevolent is a surprisingly solid and entertaining cop drama/thriller. It was smart putting LDP in the lead role, because he can easily carry a movie like this with his charm, charisma and acting ability. You could even say this is the continuing story of Jeff Powers from Extreme Justice. This isn't really an action movie, in fact all of the action was edited in from The Corrupter (1999) and Marked For Death (1990). Anyone who has seen those movies will surely recognize the footage. But at least Malevolent is open and honest about it, in its own way: both footage sources get large, easy-to-read screen credits at the end of the movie. Other DTV items don't do that. They try to hide their patchwork nature. So we give the movie credit for its openness.You have to take this movie for what it is, it's not going to change the world but it's really not bad either. In its quest to be gritty, or perhaps different, there are some horribly (intentionally horribly) edited sequences that are trying to be "cool". If the movie was just edited normally, that would have helped. Plus there are some highly clichéd, even stereotypical characters, such as Lucas' partner Carla, played by Gwen McGee. But Ballerini did a great job as the baddie, he really makes you hate him. It's always nice to see Kari Wuhrer, we were happy she was on board. It was also cool to see Jack McGee, of The Quest (1996) fame as the bartender. Steven Bauer should have had more screen time as the captain. Also, Simon Rhee is credited as one of the stunt players.LDP even wrote the lyrics for the movie's most memorable song, "Pray For Dawn", a bluesy-type number. He should get more credit for being multi-talented. Fans of any of the cast members involved, DTV cop dramas, or fans of stock footage (we know you're out there), or anyone with some spare time on their hands might want to check out Malevolent.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.net

If you are a person who likes to check out made-for-DVD movies, there is one film company you should be aware of - and not for positive reasons. That company is Cinetel Films. More often than not in their movies, they use footage from big budget major studio films, and in "Malevolent" they do this twice. I didn't recognize the footage from "The Corrupter", but I certainly recognized the climatic vehicle chase as being taken from "Marked For Death". As for how the rest of the movie appears, it's low budget but has some decent production values like good photography. The script, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The hero makes some pretty dumb decisions along the way that prolong things - if he had been smarter, things would have been wrapped up much quicker. And when things are wrapped up, the movie abruptly ends - the movie really needed another scene after the climax. Not the worst movie made by Cinetel Films, but there's no real reason to seek it out.

Recap: Jack Lucas, a detective, is with no apparent reason suddenly the target of a set up meant to disgrace him, and finally to kill him. His gun stolen, which he didn't report, used to kill his superior officer. Lucas is now forced to stall that investigation and at the same time find out whom and why is trying to destroy him.Comments: A decent action/thriller movie that won't go to the history as one of the great ones, but good enough to watch a night. Some good shooting, some car chases and a mystery to solve. It is maybe the mystery that is the weakest point in the story. We are early given the answer to whom, but not until the end given the reason why. So the bad guys plot to destroy Lucas almost feel random and unmotivated all the time, instead of creating a feeling of suspense. And not to mention that the entire story hinges on the stupid decision not to report the theft of his gun. Combined it made it difficult for me to really engage in and believe the story. Had it cleared those two obstacles it would have been much better.5/10