This is an example of the latter-day version of the "B" movie -- the direct-to-video/cable job. As such, if you don't mind cheapness (New York City seems to be portrayed by a small town in Canada) or occasional silliness, it's pretty good. William Baldwin is noble as a cop contending with a corrupt partner (an effectively scary Adam Baldwin) and a murderous joker of a bad guy (Jon Seda having a heck of a time). He falls for a threatened witness, a shrink played with soulful intelligence -- no kidding -- by Elizabeth Mitchell. There's even a nasty hit man haunted by the memory of his musician father. The Baldwin/Mitchell dialog scenes are quite acceptable, and Seda makes your heart race whenever he's on camera. This movie stretches to encompass a theme of redemption and loss, film-noir style, and just about manages it. The action scenes, such as they are, suffer from budget stretching. A bad guy is running away from cops; after he runs half a block, nobody's chasing him anymore. But the conviction of the actors makes it work. Warner Brothers might have produced something like this to play on double bills, and the audiences would've come away satisfied.
