No Man's Land

This film is nearly 20 years old, but still rates as one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Following the title sequence which sets the violent scene of car crime which forms the backdrop for this film, Peter Werner opens the film with a fairly protracted scene featuring the central character (22-year-old rookie cop, Benjy) in his home environment. This marks the start of some brilliant characterisation which underpins the whole film, causing the viewer not to perceive that there is a "villain of the piece". As an enviable friendship between Bengy and the police target, suspected ringleader and businessman, Ted Varrick (Charlie Sheen) develops, the viewer yearns to be in ether's shoes, as Ted welcomes Bengy to his world of the "rich and aimless". This envy is part based on the complex hedonistic and idealistic relationships between all the characters that evolves, but ultimately everything relies for its roots on Bengy and Teds crime sprees, something that ultimately must end.

The deterioration is palpable, and when ultimately the reckoning comes, it does so in series of twists that drive the two friends together (something very much cunningly engineered by Ted himself). The end represents a self fulfilling prophesy that left me craving for more, yet knowing there could be no sequel.

The contrast between the pair is very much a focal point, the only commonality being their devotion to their own goals - goals which for Bengy at least become very blurred, as Ted gives him the Porsche and the lifestyle that form the focus of his own existence. The domestic opening scene is a stark contrast for the remote, empty but undeniabley plush and palacial house that Ted "visits" rather than truly lives in, with its stunning view from the hills over the city.

The film is bolstered by some spectacular car chase sequences that are plausible in a way that modern sequences rarely are. They all involve Porsche 911's and if there is ever any incredulity it comes from these sequences only. Could an Oldsmobile ever keep pace with a works Porsche? How could an Iroc Z ever hope to keep up, and if it did, and crashed into the lightweight Porsche, how on earth does it fail to leave a scratch?

Romantic interest is enticingly present as Ted encourages the relationship between Bengy and his own sister Anne (Lara Harris) but it never manages to rival, nor is intended to rival the strength of the bond between Ted and Bengy.

Utterly brilliant for the most part, I've now watched this film 8 times.

Thoroughly recommended.

I hate to praise Charlie Sheen, but I must.He played this role so perfectly, that I forgot I was watching a movie. I know that's a cliché by now, but it applies.

You know the plot from the other reviews. Boyish undercover cop infiltrates a mechanic shop and befriends the owner, whom he is assigned to tail. That's because he is a suspected car thief and murderer.

Think "Point Break" here, only 4 years earlier. A charismatic bad boy, sucks a peer into his criminal world, and the peer is actually in law enforcement.

If you love 80s movies set amidst the glitz of 80s L.A., with fancy cars and classic obscure 80s dance tunes thrown in, you will love this one.

I couldn't help envying the adventure that the D.B. Sweeney character was having. Nothing exciting ever happens to me. He gets introduced to the world of "the rich and aimless," gets a brother-like best friend who gives him money and lavish gifts, and he falls in love with a beautiful rich girl.

There were a couple of authenticity problems I have to mention. The Sweeney character was supposed to be a 22 year old rookie, yet he was working undercover. Wouldn't that be a bit advanced for him? He was not a detective. But I guess they had to use him, because of his mechanical acumen with Porsches.

Also, in order to get hired as a Porsche mechanic, wouldn't he have to show that he passed certification classes? Having just worked on some old cars in his driveway, would he really be skilled enough to work with professional foreign car mechanics, without taking any courses?

The Randy Quaid character was a little comic-bookie, or over-the-top angry, but I guess they had to establish the tension between him and the rookie.

The final showdown will again remind you of "Point Break." Enjoy it. This is definitely a guy's movie.

I will preface this by saying I am an '88 Porsche 930 Turbo owner here. That's the silver car in the chase scene with the Camaro. Biased opinion I'll admit. I think this movie pretty much holds it's own as far as the story line goes. I love it, being a Porsche fanatic.

D.B. Sweeney is perfect in this role. Outside of Platoon, I think this is the best Charlie Sheen.

But, let's face it. The star of this movie is the drop dead sexy Porsche 911!

"The Fast And The Furious" completely stole from this movie. They substituted hopped up Hondas and Mazdas for the Porsches.

If you are looking for my opinion, watch this movie. If you want a good story line, great driving scenes, this is your movie.

If you are a Porsche fan, you probably have already watched this 100 times like me!

Once again I've got to say thank you to my Netflix 'recommended' queue, because thus far it's let me to several great movies that I never knew existed, including this one.

This was a truly good movie, with a fantastic storyline, great acting and a lot of style. Charlie Sheen turns in a terrific, understated performance, which makes you sadly recall that at one time he was a gifted young actor with a promising future ahead of him, and not an out of control bipolar freak of nature. This movie actually fell right in the middle of his golden period; shortly after 'Platoon' and just before 'Wall Street' and 'Young Guns'. He was pretty clearly at the top of his game.

The rest of the cast did wonderfully as well, especially D.B. Sweeney who handled the lead role admirably, and the incredibly beautiful and talented Lara Harris, who deserves far more work in Hollywood than she's gotten. The only character who seemed out of place was Randy Quaid as the no-nonsense lieutenant, but that's only because I've become so used to seeing him in goofball roles that it's now a bit jarring when he's serious.

I definitely enjoyed this film, and any fan of the police/thriller genre will surely enjoy it as well, as will fans of the time period in general. I'm glad I didn't pass this one over.

Despite starring Charlie Sheen, who has been hot for the past several years from starring in a top-rated sitcom, "No Man's Land" seems to have been all but forgotten. In fact, I have NEVER seen this movie broadcast on television - I had to rent this over the Internet to see it.

Before seeing it, I thought that maybe since the movie was rated "R", that's why I had never seen it on television. But to my surprise, the "R" rating for this movie seems a bit harsh. There's no nudity, no (onscreen) sex, there are only a few utterances of the harshest swear words (which could easily be overdubbed), and the limited violence on display could easily be shown on a television drama. The movie feels more like a PG-13.

The above is a big clue as to why I felt this movie didn't work. It's lacking grit - it feels bland and without passion. At times it feels like it was made for television. It's not only with the direction, but with the performances as well - none of the actors here seem to be very enthusiastic, and the only thing colorful about them is Randy Quaid's weird hairstyle.

One positive thing I can say about the movie is that unlike other '80s movies, this one hasn't dated that much. But that is not enough to save the movie.

P.S. - MGM's DVD of the movie is pretty bad. Not only is the movie presented full-frame, and using what seems to be an older print not made especially for this DVD, the colors frequently seem off somewhat.