SUCH a good film, could have easily earned a theatrical release. For a generation raised on David Soul as Detective Ken Hutchinson on Starsky and Hutch it really is a revelation to see him here as such a brutal villain (although having seen him as the vigilante police officer in 'Magnum Force' you realise his range extends far beyond clean cut heroes). Soul really dominates this film even with noted character actor Ronny Cox who was enjoying an excellent run at this stage of his career with his appearances in 'Robocop' and 'Total Recall'.
I think what makes Platt and Matix so terrifying is their very ordinariness, both family men with no criminal record, both ex-soldiers with honourable discharges. Yet they were two of the most ruthless and violent criminals ever to be encountered. The final shootout is very accurate and thrilling, so well directed and acted by all. There are a few discrepancies from real life, the Miami police arrived sooner and helped protect one of the wounded agents, whilst Platt certainly did fire on Ed Moraless with his handgun it is disputed whether he got out of the car to do so. Terrific music too conveying the drama and excitement and also the poignancy of events depicted.
Looking back now you can see all the mistakes the FBI made, not in their investigation which was flawless but in the final confrontation, they took on 2 men whom they knew were combat trained and armed with assault rifles with most of their agents just armed with pistols and one shotgun, only one of whom was wearing body armour. Nowadays many people criticize SWAT operations as over the top but they were developed partly as a result of this shootout.
I think what really makes this stand out is the final sequence, the last zoom in on Matix's drivers licence and the voice-over informing us of the aftermath and unanswered questions surrounding the case never fails to chill the blood. The tribute at the end to Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan is always moving, giving their lives in the line of duty.
I think what makes Platt and Matix so terrifying is their very ordinariness, both family men with no criminal record, both ex-soldiers with honourable discharges. Yet they were two of the most ruthless and violent criminals ever to be encountered. The final shootout is very accurate and thrilling, so well directed and acted by all. There are a few discrepancies from real life, the Miami police arrived sooner and helped protect one of the wounded agents, whilst Platt certainly did fire on Ed Moraless with his handgun it is disputed whether he got out of the car to do so. Terrific music too conveying the drama and excitement and also the poignancy of events depicted.
Looking back now you can see all the mistakes the FBI made, not in their investigation which was flawless but in the final confrontation, they took on 2 men whom they knew were combat trained and armed with assault rifles with most of their agents just armed with pistols and one shotgun, only one of whom was wearing body armour. Nowadays many people criticize SWAT operations as over the top but they were developed partly as a result of this shootout.
I think what really makes this stand out is the final sequence, the last zoom in on Matix's drivers licence and the voice-over informing us of the aftermath and unanswered questions surrounding the case never fails to chill the blood. The tribute at the end to Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan is always moving, giving their lives in the line of duty.