Not a classic, but an enjoyable 80s action flick with the always charming Sam Elliott as a gruff NYPD detective and Peter Weller as a quirky lawyer teaming up to take down some dirty cops. From writer/director James Glickenhaus, who brought us the grindhouse classic THE EXTERMINATOR, this is his most polished film, but its major weakness is how conventional it is compared to his rule-breaking grindhouse classic. Still, the leads are great, even if Elliott doesn't get enough screen time, 80s character actors litter the screen everywhere, and the film does a great job of using practical locations on the filthy streets of NYC before Giuliani cleaned it up. Behind the scenes, Weller and Elliot were assigned bodyguards for the night shoots in Times Square, back when it was still populated with peepshows, pimps, and criminals before it became Disneyland. Another strength of the film is all of the practical stunt work. There's no CGI here! Stuntmen really did all the leaping from buildings, crazy car rolls, and hanging off of bridges. Outside of some awful blue screen during the film's finale, the film has a gritty and grounded feel to the action that makes it a must-see for fans of 80s action films.
4-7-19
Enjoyably cliched 80s buddy cop film with more mullets than you can shake a stick at!
Shakedown (1988) ***
I don't think I'd seen this film since it originally came out in the theater. I remember thinking it was pretty ridiculous then, but it's aged better than I'd expected, mainly thanks to it's cast, the use of actual NYC locations, and 80s action film nostalgia value. Peter Weller plays a groovy lawyer and Sam Elliott plays a renegade narcotics detective. It's a cliche ridden story of Weller and Elliott then face off against drug dealers, corrupt police officers, and other assorted low-lifes. The script by writer/director James Glickenhaus is pretty awful, but his action sequences are serviceable. In the film's favor is the fun pairing of Elliott and Weller and also the use of grimy pre-Giuliani NYC locations, including one action sequence filmed at 42nd Street in Times Square when it was still a den of go-go bars, peep shows, and adult theaters. It was certainly a good thing that Giuliani cleaned up the streets of NYC, but when it comes to movies filmed in The Big Apple, I have a fond affection for films like "The Warriors", "Maniac", "Gloria", "C. H. U. D.", "Black Caesar", "Across 110th Street", "Combat Shock", or even Glickenhaus' own "The Exterminator" which all prominently featured the seedy side of the city that never sleeps. Also in the film's favor is that it featured more mullets than any recent action film I can think of outside of "Roadhouse". Overall, "Shakedown" is a highly routine buddy cop picture to the degree of being a genre stereotype, but it has enough positives to be enjoyed by fans of these sorts of films.
