Shakedown: noun--extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
The NYPD come upon a crime scene in which a plainclothes police officer is dead and a drug dealer named Michael Jones (Richard Brooks) is shot. It looks like a clear case of a drug dealer shooting an officer to avoid arrest. Looks can be deceiving. And looks are especially deceiving in this movie where just about all the police are dirty to some degree. "Shakedown" would have you believe the entire NYPD was on the drug dealers' payroll. Michael Jones's defense attorney, Roland Dalton (Peter Weller), is out to prove that his client acted in self-defense.
This ill-conceived movie took place in the courtroom and on the streets. While Roland was in the courtroom trying to defend his client Officer Richie Marks (Sam Elliott) was in the streets trying to bring down corrupt cops.
"Shakedown" shunned brilliant police work and shrewd lawyering for brazen gun battles and explosions. What little good it had going for it went up in flames in the climactic scene.
As the dirtiest cop and biggest drug dealer were getting away in a private jet, Roland and Richie chased them down the tarmac in a 911 Porsche. The Porsche caught up to them-- which was unlikely even as fast as it is. Instead of Officer Marks shooting out the tires or shooting some other crucial part of the jet before it took off, he jumps from the speeding car onto the landing gear of the plane.
The plane lifted off conveniently leaving the landing gear down for the hero cop to stay perched on. Then, high in the air above the skyscrapers of the New York skyline, hero cop starts shooting out one of the plane's engines while also throwing a live grenade into the cockpit. The jet, now disabled, begins to descend in order to safely land. Their descent brings them only feet above the Hudson river for hero cop to hop off safely into the water. Once hero cop is in the river, the plane lands and then explodes.
I can't even express how ghastly ludicrous this scene is. It offends every sensibility within me. Scenes like this say to the audience, "You are all morons and let me show you how moronic you are."
The NYPD come upon a crime scene in which a plainclothes police officer is dead and a drug dealer named Michael Jones (Richard Brooks) is shot. It looks like a clear case of a drug dealer shooting an officer to avoid arrest. Looks can be deceiving. And looks are especially deceiving in this movie where just about all the police are dirty to some degree. "Shakedown" would have you believe the entire NYPD was on the drug dealers' payroll. Michael Jones's defense attorney, Roland Dalton (Peter Weller), is out to prove that his client acted in self-defense.
This ill-conceived movie took place in the courtroom and on the streets. While Roland was in the courtroom trying to defend his client Officer Richie Marks (Sam Elliott) was in the streets trying to bring down corrupt cops.
"Shakedown" shunned brilliant police work and shrewd lawyering for brazen gun battles and explosions. What little good it had going for it went up in flames in the climactic scene.
As the dirtiest cop and biggest drug dealer were getting away in a private jet, Roland and Richie chased them down the tarmac in a 911 Porsche. The Porsche caught up to them-- which was unlikely even as fast as it is. Instead of Officer Marks shooting out the tires or shooting some other crucial part of the jet before it took off, he jumps from the speeding car onto the landing gear of the plane.
The plane lifted off conveniently leaving the landing gear down for the hero cop to stay perched on. Then, high in the air above the skyscrapers of the New York skyline, hero cop starts shooting out one of the plane's engines while also throwing a live grenade into the cockpit. The jet, now disabled, begins to descend in order to safely land. Their descent brings them only feet above the Hudson river for hero cop to hop off safely into the water. Once hero cop is in the river, the plane lands and then explodes.
I can't even express how ghastly ludicrous this scene is. It offends every sensibility within me. Scenes like this say to the audience, "You are all morons and let me show you how moronic you are."