Dead Bang

I saw this in the theater and the only thing I remembered about it was Don Johnson puking on a guy. So with all the talk of Frankenheimer on the other board, I decided to revisit it and was more than happy I did. Don Johnson stars as Jerry Beck (apparently based on a real LAPD cop) who begins to investigate the murder of a fellow officer. The investigation ends up taking him all over the US on the trail of white supremacists. The film is pretty gritty and realistic but suffers from a terrible Hollywood "We blinded you with convenience" ending. That aside, there is much to like here from Johnson's anti-Crockett cop to great supporting turns by William Forsythe and Bob Balaban to the witty script. And, of course, the aforementioned puke scene. Not as good (or as sleazy) as my 52 PICK UP, my favorite 80s Frankenheimer vehicle, but still worth checking out.

As underrated actors go, Don Johnson must surely rank pretty high. However in saying that, if you peruse through his back catalogue of movies you will certainly find many a gem that has made the man what he is today. For sheer emotion and heart rendering, just take a look at 'Ceasefire' and 'Paradise' for a romantic comedy look beyond the remake of 'Born Yesterday' and head straight to 'Sweethearts Dance' and without a doubt if you are looking for a thriller with a hard edge look no further than 'Dead Bang' Whilst watching it bear in mind 'Miami Vice' and consider the character of Jerry Beck to be the darker side of Sonny Crockett. Looking like ten miles of rough road, Don Johnson essays the role of a world weary downtrodden Jerry Beck to the max. This is a man carrying the world on his shoulders, his private life has gone down the toilet and his job specification doesn't look any better. As the movie begins, a black shopkeeper is gunned down, money from the cash register is taken and the killer movies on, the crime is reported, the criminal is approached by a passing patrol car, suspicions arise, the policeman is also gunned down. Enter Detective Jerry Beck, into a terrain waiting to explode into a world of hurt and anger, a world covered in darkness run by a gang of white supremacists. An absolute classic from start to finish, littered with some seriously good dialogue and acting. The two best scenes from the whole movie, consist of the infamous chase sequence between Beck and and a possible suspect, when Beck catches up with the runaway and then proceeds to throw up on him.....what absolute joy. The other scene in question has to be the one where Beck's hierarchy decide to question his mental capabilities, so they decide to send him to see the local Psychiatrist, when Beck starts to laugh and lets it be known that he thinks the man looks like Woody Allen, what happens thereafter in the scene, just has to be witnessed. Action Packed to the max, 'Dead Bang is Dead On! without hesitation this movie gets 10 out of 10

Didn't much like this one. Not the first time and not now either. What really grates is the music. It's the kind you hear on movies made with cheap celluloid. It's loud and garish and gives you a headache in no time flat and it's got 'diddley' to do with the movie - doesn't fit the emotional impact at all. Speaking of bad celluloid. This is made so cheap you now know what it must have felt like to be Ludwig van Beethoven and have to write that final symphony. Grainy and generally poor quality. This one is trying to be 'cult' but it fails miserably. About the only pretty thing in this one is Penelope Ann - and she's gone almost before she pops up. Don Johnson is cool. Miami Vice might be dated but it's cool. Violent too. I digress. It's cool. This is so totally different. It's not cool. It tries to be something it's not. No matter that some people love it - I find it totally luckless. A dud thud.

Ignored, but lively and well-paced crime movie with D*n *o*nso* as the every-cliche-in-the-book burned out cop. He's on the edge! He doesn't play by the rules! He has a drink problem! His marriage is on the rocks! He's a gay Nazi! Well, maybe not the last one, but there's plenty of nasty Nazis in this to hiss at. They're none-too-bright though. Would they really risk murdering a bar full of people for no reason on the way to such an important meeting? The hero cop's beating of suspects is repugnant but the humour of the film is irresistible. Great scenes include the Sheriff (nobody f***s with him!), "Don't puke! Don't puke!", The psychiatrist (he looks just like Woody Allen!) and last, but no means least, the FBI stuffed-shirt ( he's a christian, no joke!) The ending is a little routine but the rest rocks in an unassuming way.

There's a specific brand of cop in film and on TV that apparently appeals to audiences. Typically, he's alienated from his family because he's too dedicated to his job and consumes too much of his time doing it and not enough with them. Or debasing brutality has taken too big a chunk out of his consciousness for him to frequent the society of women and children. Generally, he eats three meals of pizza or Chinese and drinks like a fish. The company he keeps does nothing for his lexicon. And the first thing everybody tells him is that he looks terrible. In Dead Bang, Don Johnson plays this classic brand of cop, to a tee. Has anyone ever made a movie about a good cop who is neurotically orderly? The one perhaps determining stroke contributed by Dead Bang is a scene in which the inebriated investigator heaves onto a suspect. His name is Beck and on Christmas Eve he's designated to probe the murder of another LA cop. He produces the name of a freshly paroled offender apparently affiliated with a disheveled band of white supremacists. There are a few rows and gunfights, and a Fed overplayed by William Forsythe imposes himself. Also, due to his wreckless ways, which appear somewhat restrained relative to that of most movie cops, Beck is ordered by the chief to obtain permission from a police shrink or be removed from the case. However since Michael Jeter's counselor resembles Woody Allen, Beck breaks up and the doctor grows annoyed and the opportunity of remaining on the case seems remote, that is till Beck has a very unclinical, clear-cut and inhospitable talk with the slightly built fellow. Near the beginning, there's an unwanted detour in which Beck beds Penelope Ann Miller who, unbeknownst to him, was the wife of the murdered cop. But when he faces her with the information, that's all and she never appears again. From then on out it's all boys, and there is some inexplicably evocative dialogue in which Beck and his contemporaries talk about "going through doors" together. Beck says there's only one thing that counts: Is there anyone who'd be afraid to go through a door with him? And later, his police chief replies, "I want you to know that I'd go through a door with you anytime." Johnson's eyes look aloof, but he's got some presence here, doing the work and really deriving something appealing out of the formula. As the burdensome G-man, Forsythe is the essence of trivial-mindedness. At one point, he looks at a shivering Beck with gravitas and says, "You didn't bring a cold-weather coat? What's wrong with you?" Also, Bob Balaban, as a whipped parole officer, and Tim Reid, as a local police chief, give their roles some punch. However, what the audience sees, actually, are a couple of white-supremacist psychopaths with a fixation on racial purity and homemade apple tarts. Their main advocates are a handful of dim-witted Hell's Angels sorts who, when they need funds, raid the Mexican bar right next door, kill everyone in it and then are astonished when the authorities appear. John Frankenheimer's control is tight enough but quite mechanical: He sustains the action but doesn't furnish much character. Then again, Robert Foster's script is speckled with crumbs of peculiarity, practically all of them minor. Frankenheimer, the director of three of the most sharply honed and deeply affecting conspiracy movies ever made, is also responsible for some of the more negligible.

Don Johnson stars as Jerry Beck a renegade cop who takes on a group of white supremists who are responsible for knocking off a black store owner and hispanic restaurant owners in this standard cop actioner which does have it's moments of entertainment such as the scene where Johnson throws up on one of his suspects or the showdown Johnson has with a shrink. Overall Dead Bang may not be a classic but it does live up to it's title.

This crime drama was barely released by the studio, so not many got to see it. It IS, however, a cut or two above your usual routine action film, with an absorbing (and topical) story, good acting and solid direction by veteran director John Frankenheimer. Not a classic, but there are many WORSE films out there. If you're only used to seeing him on "Miami Vice" as the ultra-cool Sonny Crockett, Johnson may surprise you here with a his performance....he's gritty, funny, flawed and very real (both the character and story here are fact-based). The scene where he vomits on a suspect after a blocks-long foot chase (he's hung over from a previous night's alcohol binge) is a classic....gross, but hilarious.

Nothing new here . Another cop with family problems , dead cop , revenge ,investigation ,white racists … It's all been done before and with better results. There is one thing I learned from this movie – don't chase a guy when you have a hangover. Don Johnson tries very hard to bring life in an uninteresting character and he deserves some praise for that. There is nice shootout at the end. There is simplistic anti-racist message . There are some funny moments here and there (telephone scene). Some investigation and action. Some unintentionally funny ideas (FBI agent who doesn't like swearing and looks like straight from "Police academy" , psychiatrist who looks like Woody Allen) It's not a terrible movie , but it is a waste of time. This movie is like a love story in it – appears for a while , then quickly disappears and doesn't stay with you. As for John Frankheimer… All I can say it's that we all need to pay taxes. I give it 1/10.

What kind of mentality writes this stuff? As much as I like Don Johnson and enjoy seeing him, I thought this story was pitiful. A handful of local cops with one FBI agent go after a compound of white supremacists? Yeah sure. Feds would have been there with tanks and flame throwers and snipers and an army of shooters. Grrr The writers or producers must have had an agenda. They don't seem to see too clearly. When you feel like you are being manipulated, you may be. I would like to see a more truthful, more balanced presentation of this subject. I haven't read the story in its original form, and it could be that the producers have messed with the story until it is one-sided beyond belief.

Being a Don Johnson fan, I liked this film. It's also got a good director(John Frankenheimer). Johnson's a Dirty Harry-type cop this time with all the stereotypical trimmings of the role i.e. divorced, drinks, never sees his kids, no personal life etc. This movie's got action, it's witty, funny, satirical, and it's fact-based but it's not Serpico. William Forsythe is particularly laughable as an FBI straight-man.