The movie begins with news montages about the unprecedented crime wave in Columbus, Ohio. Contrarily, Governor John Meserve (Patrick St. Esprit) gives a press conference and says the opposite: crime is down. When questioned by protestors about a proposed pipeline, Meserve promises that he has commissioned an independent study of the pipeline.
Vivian (Rebecca De Mornay), who has something to say about the proposed pipeline, picks up her unemployed husband Stanley (John Travolta), who has returned from a positive job interview to manage a factory in California. At the diffusely lit and practically unoccupied airport parking garage, a man with a fly tattoo on his face (Charley = Luis Da Silva Jr.) approaches and asks them for money. Stanley politely refuses, but two other men mysteriously sneak up on Stanley and stun him with a blow to the head. The first man fatally stabs Vivian and takes her wallet. Although dazed, Stanley watches the men flee.
With Stanley's description of Charley, the police are able to apprehend him. But even though Stanley picks him out the lineup, the police detectives (Gibson = Sam Trammell / Walker = Asante Jones) let him go. They say that his descriptions changed too much (they didn't). Stanley, despondent and enraged, yearns for revenge. While tracking down the men, Stanley realizes that the fatal mugging was no random attack. There were political forces behind his wife's murder. Now he has bigger fish to fry.
Stanley, with his mercenary past, is well-equipped to get his revenge. He also has an ally in a barber, Dennis (Christopher Meloni). Together these guys are dynamite. But you've seen it all before. The flic borrows from other films, such as "Goldfinger" (car-crush scene) and "Taken" (hostage part). The ending with the last shootout doesn't ring true. And there are questions: for instance, why is Stanley's life spared as he is the only witness to the crime in the garage (and the bad guys lack empathy)? But some may like the fact that the film does not require much brainpower to figure out. Also, both Travolta and Meloni are good and rise above their material, which is not strong despite the plot twists. Christopher Meloni at age 55 is in excellent physical condition; Travolta's hair (including the hairline) is peculiar. The movie was filmed on location in Columbus, Ohio.
