So much average

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Maverick Chicago cop Eddie Jillette poses as a hit man to meet with someone in from New Orleans looking to have a job done. The result is that both the guy and Jillette's partner wind up very dead, while a stunning blonde in on the setup disappears. He heads south to settle the score and soon finds himself being hunted, with the girl in tow and the local police anything but happy....Another attempt at mid Eighties film noir, this is average from the very start. It's a typical cop movie to begin with, there is always a stakeout to begin with, Gere as always is the main cop, seems pretty frustrated throughout the film, maybe because his wife left him, and then there is the inclusion of Basinger, purely eye candy here and nothing else.It's not very interesting, and the story never really gets exciting enough for you to care about the stereo typical bad guys, or the cop 'on the edge'.Halfway through the film, The two stars begin to get feelings for each other, but then, Jerome Krabbe steps in to the fray with his slick hair and huge coat, looking like an angry turtle with a flick knife.The last fifteen minutes include a little bit of gun play, but by this time, the audience is already lethargic thanks to Geres over-smouldering and Basingers pre-batman screams.And to think that six years later Gere and Basinger thought they had enough chemistry to garner another hit. Final Analysis.Ironic title.

This is not one of my top 10 films of all times, but it is a solid genre piece with some interesting variations and local color.After Katrina, a film about New Orleans has a special interest that adds a certain sauce.If there are any weaknesses, some of Bassinger's line deliveries are a bit weak. Otherwise, superb acting all around. I have always thought Gere was something of a lightweight, but very solid work here.Unlike many films, they get the weapons handling VERY right.I am a bit confused as to why this film has been rated so low on average. I have the video, and watch it about once a year.

**SPOILERS** Clash of culture film that goes from Chicago to the swamps bayous and streets of New Orleans with windy city cop Eddie Jillette, Richard Gere, looking to get even for the savage murder of his partner undercover cop Joe Collins, Gary Basaraba, by Cajun gangster Losado, Jeroen Krabbe. At the time Losado was in town to get back his runaway and personal slave girl.Chicago police officers Jillette & Collins getting a tip from a local Chicago pot pusher Angles Ryan, Ray Starkey, that they busted that he was hired to do a hit for somebody from out of town. The two policemen acting as hit men meet later that evening New Orleans businessman Paul Deveneux, Terry Kinney, and his girlfriend Michel Duval, Kim Basinger, at a Chicago restaurant. Deveneux wants the two to take out this very dangerous and brutal New Orleans gangster, Losado, and is willing to pay big money to get the "Job" done.Before anything could happen Deveneux is blown to pieces and officer Jillette barley escapes with his life as they were caught in a street ambush by the targeted Losado and his gang. Back at the hotel were police officer Collins is staying Michael Losado and a bunch of his hoods breaks in and catch Collins by surprise. slicing Collins open with a huge hunting knife Losado then takes off with Micheal who he considered to be his private property. Getting to the hotel room too late to save his partner officer Jillette is deeply hurt for not being there in time to prevent Collins from being murdered. Trying to find Collins' killer in the city of New Orleans Jillette finds Michel at the Blue Parrot nightclub. Jillette had a hunch she would be there from the blue parrot tattoo she had on her right shoulder. The movie then goes into overdrive with Jillette on the run with Michel as a hostage as Losado and his gang try to track down and kill him as well as rescue Michel. Jillette on the other hand is on a mission of revenge to find officer Collins murderer and bring him to Justice with him being the sole judge jury and executioner.Getting away from Losado's goons Jillette makes it back to the main New Orleans police station with Michel only to get arrested and then told to check out of the city by the New Orleans police Lt. Hall, Bruce McGill. Determined not to leave without taking care of Lasado Jillette has Michel, who had since fallen in love with him, used as bait to get him out in the open which leads to the movies fiery conclusion in a deserted New Orleans hotel. Average suspense/drama that's helped a lot by the presence of Jeroen Krabbe as the cold-blooded and murderous Cajun gangster Losado. Creepy yet soft spoken who without even the slightest show of emotions Lasado would lash out at his unsuspecting victim with his deadly blade like a coiled rattlesnake.The showdown at the Algires Point Hotel had Lasado and his entire gang shoot and knife it out with an almost suicidal officer Jillette who didn't care if he lived through it or not. With him only wanting to take out the Cajun killer so he could finally feel that his partner didn't die in vain and that his killer didn't live to get away with murdering him.

In 1986, when No Mercy was released, two names that would be near the top of any "World's Sexiest Man" and "World's Sexiest Woman" lists would have been Richard Gere and Kim Basinger. In getting these two gorgeous people together, the makers of No Mercy then committed the age-old sin - they forgot to provide them with a decent story! Gere plays Chicago cop Eddie Jillette. Whilst on a case, Eddie's partner Joe (Gary Basaraba) is brutally murdered by French gangster Losado (Jereon Krabbe). Jillette heads down to Losado's New Orleans lair to avenge his partner's death. There, he meets gangster's moll Michel (Kim Basinger), a stunning woman desperate to get away from her sadistic lover but too afraid to do so. She and Jillette end up handcuffed together, hiding out in the dangerous Louisiana swampland from Losado and his heavies. Immediately, you can see that No Mercy is riddled with stale plot devices - cop avenging the death of his friend; hero stealing a lover from the villain; usual fish-out-of-water ideas (this time a Chicago cop working in New Orleans); even the swamp sequence has a whiff of The Defiant Ones and The 39 Steps about it. The film is also excessively grim and nasty, with Krabbe in particular struggling to do anything as a one-dimensional, knife-wielding sadist. The action high-spots, including a climactic shootout in a burning hotel, are quite expensive-looking sequences but, like the rest of the film, are oddly uninteresting and unoriginal.