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Ricochet
Despite the presence of Denzel Washington and John Lithgow in the starring roles, a 1991 crime drama called Ricochet falters thanks to a swiss cheese screenplay and overheated direction.
Denzel Washington plays Nicholas Styles, a former beat cop who was responsible for putting away a slightly insane drug dealer named Earl Talbot Blake (Lithgow) behind bars. Many years later, Styles has graduated from law school and is now the DA, while Earl Talbot Blake has managed to break out of jail without anyone noticing and has sworn revenge on Styles.
Can't believe it actually took three writers to come up with this convoluted story that just strain credibility with each scene. Couldn't figure out why Styles wasn't immediately informed when Styles had escaped, giving him plenty of time to have him grabbed and held prisoner at the bottom of an empty swimming pool and that's another thing...where was this swimming pool and how was a freshly out of jail drug dealer able to get access to it? And during the over-the-top finale, none of the police officers present noticed escaped convict Blake standing right in front of the tower screaming at Styles?
As Talbot begins his plan to methodically destroy Styles' life, no one he works for even considers the fact that he might be being framed and the scenes of Blake plying Styles with drugs and alcohol and then sitting a nude hooker on top of him and taking pictures of him were just as laughable. The only thing that was more laughable was Styles trying to explain the frame up and realizing he's not getting anywhere. If it weren't for the fact that Denzel Washington was playing this character, a lot of what happens to Styles borders on laughable.
Russell Mulcahy's direction is frenzied and scattered, making it rather exhausting one scene and trying not to giggle the next. Washington and Lithgow are pros who almost win their battle with the screenplay and they do get help from Kevin Pollak, Ice-T, Lindsey Wagner, John Amos, and John Cothran, but this is for hardcore Denzel fans only...if the truth be told, hardcore Denzel fans will just watch Training Day again.
Despite the presence of Denzel Washington and John Lithgow in the starring roles, a 1991 crime drama called Ricochet falters thanks to a swiss cheese screenplay and overheated direction.
Denzel Washington plays Nicholas Styles, a former beat cop who was responsible for putting away a slightly insane drug dealer named Earl Talbot Blake (Lithgow) behind bars. Many years later, Styles has graduated from law school and is now the DA, while Earl Talbot Blake has managed to break out of jail without anyone noticing and has sworn revenge on Styles.
Can't believe it actually took three writers to come up with this convoluted story that just strain credibility with each scene. Couldn't figure out why Styles wasn't immediately informed when Styles had escaped, giving him plenty of time to have him grabbed and held prisoner at the bottom of an empty swimming pool and that's another thing...where was this swimming pool and how was a freshly out of jail drug dealer able to get access to it? And during the over-the-top finale, none of the police officers present noticed escaped convict Blake standing right in front of the tower screaming at Styles?
As Talbot begins his plan to methodically destroy Styles' life, no one he works for even considers the fact that he might be being framed and the scenes of Blake plying Styles with drugs and alcohol and then sitting a nude hooker on top of him and taking pictures of him were just as laughable. The only thing that was more laughable was Styles trying to explain the frame up and realizing he's not getting anywhere. If it weren't for the fact that Denzel Washington was playing this character, a lot of what happens to Styles borders on laughable.
Russell Mulcahy's direction is frenzied and scattered, making it rather exhausting one scene and trying not to giggle the next. Washington and Lithgow are pros who almost win their battle with the screenplay and they do get help from Kevin Pollak, Ice-T, Lindsey Wagner, John Amos, and John Cothran, but this is for hardcore Denzel fans only...if the truth be told, hardcore Denzel fans will just watch Training Day again.