Route 9

In a small town, deputy's Booth Parker and Earl Whitney are looking for a missing dog when they come across a drug deal which has gone wrong. They find over a million dollars in one of the cars and, with everyone of the criminals dead, they decide to keep it. One criminal is still alive and Earl kills him to cover their tracks. However the next day Agent Ellen Marks arrives in the town to investigate further as one of the `criminals' was an undercover DEA agent who had not only told his superiors about the money in the car, but was also wearing a tape recorder on the job. As they try to cover their tracks, Booth and Earl's simple plan gets more and more out of control.

The plot will be familiar to anyone who has seen more than a few movies in their life! The most recent comparison will the Rami's A Simple Plan, but there are plenty of films where the plot is, in essence the same as this. However this is not a problem if it is done well, the aforementioned film was very enjoyable and delivered well. However Route 9 feels tired and old before it even really gets started. The basic plot is OK but it is never really as tense as it could have been, at some points the twists that are introduced to keep the main characters in a state of flux are a little too much and the web becomes more tangled rather than ensnaring.

The film doesn't really develop the characters beyond what we expect from them. Instead of them being real people they are simply the type of characters one would expect to find in this type of film – this takes away from the film as it never got me on that level. The cast do average work though despite this. MacLachlan is pretty good in the lead and does have to carry the film's moral centre, Williams has it easy as the reckless side. Support from names such as Coyote, Maffia, Sandoval etc is all OK but no one really manages to rise above the material.

Overall it is not a bad film in itself. However the problem is that it doesn't seem to want to distinguish itself in any way. It takes a familiar story line, fills it with characters who will be known to everyone as they are so thinly developed so as to be types rather than people and lets the action go just where you knew it would. Passable but this has been done much better than this.

When placing your eyes upon a TV Movie you would not expect that it will exceed your expectations. But this low budget movie definitely did. It centered around two police officers who decide to keep some 'drug related' money leading to various circumstances and unfortunate endings. The acting was good but a force-ful OTT acting that you would expect from a TV film with the rural town being a perfect spot for The Simple Plan. Like some people had noted before it is very similar to the underground hit, A Simple Plan, released that same year.

It is not as good as the latter but I was genuine surprised with the results. The saying 'Money turns everyone into vultures' is widely portrayed throughout the beginning, right through to the finale.

6/10

I found this one just flippin' through the pages of a video-on-demand site ... and what a find. A solid, very entertaining noir B-thriller.

Cop Kyle MacLachlan and his partner aim to steal a cache of loot from a crime scene ... think they'll get away with it?? Kyle Mac is sort of bullied into the scheme by his bumbling, loudmouth, forever-in-debt partner. And as soon as the idea is hatched, things go wrong, Murphy's Law-style, for the next 90 minutes. There were plenty of twists and turns in the plot: many were quite predictable, but some were real shockers, and the intrigue carried through until the final scene, with the viewer never *really* sure who would come out on top.

This is a made-for-cable movie from the '90s but does not feel lowbrow or shot on-the-cheap like many such movies do. MacLachlan is joined in the cast by familiar faces such as Amy Locane, Peter Coyote, the striking Roma Maffia (who is terrific as a very sharp DEA agent), and Miguel Sandoval, later to star in TV's "Medium". There are a few very nice stunts including a big gun battle to start the pic, a mountainside car chase, and numerous big explosions. Director David Mackay manages a few very clever setups and cutaways as he keeps the story moving along. The music score features a prominent bluesy slide guitar dropped in for effect here and there, it is very nicely done.

This is in the end a B-movie, but B-movies when done well can be as exciting and diverting as a pic of any stripe, thanks to simple, efficient construction and skilled execution. ROUTE 9 has those in spades. B- or 7 out of 10 stars.

I have had memories of this movie for as long as I can remember. I have asked so many people if they remember it at rental and movie specialty stores. Sadly no one does. I however have the premise engraved in my mind two small two deputies stumble onto a drug deal gone bad. The two men are faced with a choice, morals are questions and things get complicated as they always do. The is full of great supporting characters portrayed by Peter Coyote and Roma Maffia. I finally found it after watching "Twin Peaks" and recognizing the actor. Thank God for IMDb and I was able to order it from Amazon. It was worth every penny, please do yourself a favor and check it out.

Made for TV in the same year, this thriller has similarities to A Simple Plan, but is sufficiently different and good enough to stand comparison with that better known movie. In any case the broad plot outline of both is as old as the Hollywood Hills - easy money goes to the heads of people who should know better; their foolproof scam runs into unforeseen events; and the thieves fall out. The acting is uniformly convincing, with Peter Coyote as a Sheriff with marital problems; Kyle MacLachlan and Wade Williams as his two Deputies (and perps); and an impressive Roma Maffia as a Federal Agent. The desert setting is perhaps a little too familiar; but the action keeps moving along, there are some really unexpected twists, and an infidelity subplot is cleverly woven into the main story.