The stage curtains open ...
Captain Healy: "You look terrible."
Jesse: "Thank you."
The stakes are raised a bit higher in "No Remorse", the 6th entry in the Jesse Stone television movie series. A killer is on the loose and it is only a matter of time before they strike again. Tom Selleck reprises the role he was made for once again as the Police Chief of Paradise. Only, he has been suspended without pay now, so I guess he isn't really the Police Chief anymore. But, he still lives in that old remote house at the end of the long wooden walkway and he still has his dog companion, Reggie.
The film starts out with a young man being shot in the back of the head in a parking garage. Jesse is no longer on the police force, so his pal, Captain Healy has asked him to serve as a temporary consultant on the case and investigate the killing, which turns into more than one over time. Meanwhile, Rose and Suit are the only 2 officers working in the Paradise police department, and they are feeling the overwhelimg pressure that comes with it in their efforts to stem a series of convenience store robberies leaving employees beaten and hospitalized. As Jesse digs deeper into his own sleuthing, he finds the trail leading back to his old friend, Gino Fish.
Even though I still really enjoyed this film, it felt like a departure from the norm. It just didn't seem right for Jesse to no longer be wearing his navy blue hat with the letters PPD on the front. I didn't like that he had been reduced to a struggling drinker who could only find work as a temporary consultant. Jesse, along with the help of Dr. Dix, tries to warm up more to Reggie, but the dog is quiet and distant. Hasty is out of prison now and runs a used car sales lot, having found his flashing bowtie and using it as a gimmick. And, Jesse has finally gotten his own cell phone, which Rose helps him to use.
I did like this film. To me, it was one of the weaker ones of the series. The final reveal on who the killer was and his motive felt a bit contrived, but as always, it was written and executed well. This is a good movie though. I would still recommend it. But, we need Jesse to be back as the Police Chief so he can go back to writing more parking tickets, and just be his normal self again.
