Sharky's Machine

source: Sharky's Machine

Trailer—Sharky's Machine

Sharky's Machine

Burt Reynolds directs himself as an Atlanta cop investigating prostitution ring tied to a political candidate. My favorite scene in "Sharky's Machine" came early on, when Reynolds's character gets demoted to the vice squad and walks down to the bottom floor, finding what the vice squad looks like (and showing how it reflects all the sleazy stuff that they have to investigate). That scene is merely an introduction to the slimy things that Sharky and his colleagues will come across over the course of the movie. I suspect that a lot of the scenes of Rachel Ward half-dressed will interest people, but those are more peripheral to the movie's action. The environs of Atlanta set the stage for all manner of lowlife activity. And when I say lowlife, I mean that there are some INTENSE scenes. It's not any kind of great movie but I enjoyed it. The rest of the cast includes Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Bernie Casey and Brian Keith.

There are some tremendous action scenes in here, some of them really wild, and the film is interesting all the way. The only complaint I would have is that it is overly profane. You don't need profanity in almost every sentence. Give me a break. That overdone language is especially not warranted when you a good story to start with, and an interesting cast. In this film, we have Burt Reynolds, Vitoorio Gassman, Rachel Ward, Brian Keith and Charles Durning.....and none of them are boring, believe me. I enjoyed this a lot more when it came out 25 years ago. Now that I'm getting older and mellowing a bit, the overdone profanity in here ruined my enjoyment of it. I last saw this five years ago and never finished it which was disappointing since I bought the film instead of renting it.

"Sharky's Machine" is a very frustrating film to watch. On one hand you have a compelling storyline, good acting by an intriguing cast, and tough action. Unfortunately the bursts of violence are strung together by some of the most tedious sequences ever. The surveillance of Rachael Ward goes on and on until it becomes nothing but a damn annoyance, and there are numerous other scenes that could have been trimmed or eliminated. If "Sharky's Machine" were re-edited down to 90 minutes it would be a far superior film. I realize this is never going to happen, so I suggest living with the fast forward button and doing your own re-editing. - MERK

Vice copy (Burt Reynolds) falls for a high-price call girl (Rachel Ward) who's under the thumb of an underworld lord (Gassman). The storyline is highly improbable, has a VERY slow stretch with Reynolds watching Ward through binoculars, has tons of gunfights and gallons of blood. Also, very sleazy. Still, I was never really bored. I was in the mood for a stupid, violent movie and this delivered. Reynold is OK in the lead; Charles Durning is very funny as his boss (he basically walks around yelling and cursing--and enjoying it); Gassman is appropriately slimy as the underworld leader. Best of all is Ward--she is incredible gorgeous and gives this movie a much better performance than it deserves. Worth watching, solely for her.

I like Burt Reynolds (Boogie Nights) playing a cop, and he didn't do too bad as a director here either. He had a great supporting cast of cops and criminals: Vittorio Gassman makes a great crime boss; Henry Silva (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai) makes a great psychopath; Brian Keith ("Family Affair"), Charles Durning (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas), Bernie Casey, and Richard Libertini (A Grandpa for Christmas) all make great partners; and, there is, of course, Rachel Ward ("The Thorn Birds"), who got a Golden Globe nomination out of her performance. Lots of action, superb performances, and a great story.

I haven't seen every single movie that Burt Reynolds has ever made, but this one (which I've just finished watching, for the third time) may very well be his best! It suffers only from some slow stretches; Burt perhaps tried to make it more "arty" than it should have been. On the other hand, he managed to avoid many of the usual cliches in the presentation of the "tough cop" role he plays (notice, for example, the scene in which he attempts to kiss Rachel Ward for the first time, or the fear he expresses just before the final showdown with the indestructible Henry Silva). In fact, Silva and those two ninja assassins are three of the most memorable villains of cop thrillers of the 80s. The film also has some offbeat touches, a surprising amount of humor, a brutal and gripping fistfight and many well-directed shots. (***)