You won't be disappointed!

The Age of Commercialism

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

No, I didn't spell that wrong. This film has little class...but is pure crass. There are few films I have ever seen with this much over-the-top violence. A quarter of the violence might have made it believable.That's not to say I didn't enjoy the flick. It's fun seeing that much overkill in a movie. And it's fun watching John Lithgow in a role that is so excessive. And to see a relatively young Denzel Washington...in his underwear, no less...get drugged and raped (yes, I mean Denzel gets raped by a woman. Nevertheless, Washington and Lithgow do demonstrate their acting abilities, but I am surprised that Washington accepted a role in a film like this. And we can't blame it on being early in his career. This was his 15th film, and he had already made several memorable films.The rest of the cast is pretty decent, as well. Ice-T is pretty stereotypical here. Kevin Pollak is good as another detective. Lindsay Wagner is fome as the D.A. There are others here you'll recognize, as well.It's dumb. It's clever. It's ridiculous. It's bizarre. But it's fun. And the ending is a true hoot. Watch it. Once. And wonder how Denzel feels about this film now.

A strong opening sequence, reminiscent of titles straight from a Hitchcock movie, bodes well and it's Denzel to the max from the opening frames. 'Ricochet' is very much a product of the 80's in its look and sound, and there's a hard edge and some snappy dialog that really pushes the action forward without pulling any of its numerous punches. This is most likely down to the screenplay being penned by Steven de Souza who wrote Die Hard; DH 2; 48 Hours and Another 48 Hours, some of the previous decades' defining films. John Lithgow's performance is suitably deranged, Kevin Pollack provides solid support (nice impression in the early stages). It's a good story, not without a Hitchcockian twist or two, arguably not particularly polished as a final product, but still a barrel load of kitschy '80's fun. Worth a look, especially for Denzel fans.

There are some features that it's best you don't think too much about, but simply go with it and enjoy the over-the-top ride. "Ricochet" is one of those films. It's quite an eye-rolling, but barnstorming action thriller starring Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Kevin Pollack, Lindsay Wagner and Ice Cube. No cliché is left untouched in the plot developments as the criminal that was put-away goes after the cop, now district attorney that put him there, but his revenge is to see this man become tainted and slowly succumb to a downward spiral. Both were rookies in their chosen profession, but only one could hit stardom. The way it's all orchestrated is contrived in its manipulation, where success and satisfaction is gained from one's failure. It's the two leads that bring it up to par. A classy Washington oozes with confidence as the district attorney, while the icy Lithgow is left off the leash in the villain role. No holding back here… performance, but also the outlandish plot. For most part it sets up building upon the situation, like a dynamite waiting to explode. Director Russell Mulcahy's stylised handling is expansive, noisy and industrious with a real eye for mean-spiritedness and biting humour amongst its stagy set-pieces. Daft, but fun thriller hokum. "I've been following your career, you know."

Denzel Washington is the LA cop responsible for the arrest of psycho-killer John Lithgow, who escapes with a plan to ruin the career of his crime-busting nemesis (instead of simply killing him, which would have been a lot easier). Don't be misled by the marquee value: this violent revenge drama is low-caliber crud with no pretensions to quality and no value except (perhaps) as a guilty pleasure. Washington, as always, is a joy to watch, but Lithgow makes an unconvincing psychopath: it's too hard to imagine him as anything except a nice guy, even after watching him drive an iron spike through someone's chest. But because his smear job on good cop (in the LAPD?) Washington is so creative and unbelievable, many viewers will suffer the ridiculous plot and cardboard characters to see how it all ends: predictable, in a large explosion and yet another impalement. But what else could be expected from the author of 'Die Hard'? Chronology note: the story is arbitrarily set in the year 1988, three full years before the film was released. Could it have been gathering dust on a studio shelf since then?