Against the Law
Against the Law
| 01 January 1997 (USA)
Against the Law Trailers

A trigger-happy outlaw goes on the run and a burned out, disillusioned cop gives chase. They end up head-to-head in a Los Angeles shoot out.

Reviews
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Arlis Fuson A young man claims to be the fastest gun out there and he's headed to California in hopes of becoming famous. A city cop gets labeled a hero after gunning down a notorious drug dealer and he doesn't want the fame he's getting. A news reporter is caught in the middle and the gun slinger asks her to set up a standoff at high noon with the infamous cop.Very silly story. Poor Jim Wynorsky has made some bad films, but I think this is the worst non skin-flick type of his I have seen. Richard Grieco reminded me of a poor mans Michael Madsen. Billy Gallo did good on here, always liked him. Nancy Allen played the reporter here and did okay and Jamie Pressly did good in a small part, but Nick Mancuso was really truly amazing and the only reason to watch this movie.I wouldn't advise anyone to watch it. Its a pretty horrible movie. Lots of bad acting, stupid dialog by most and the worst case of blank bullets I have ever seen. It's very slow and painful to set through.One message I liked was that this cop killed a man and didn't want to be treated like a hero for it, cause taking another mans life doesn't make you a great person.2/10 stars
elevator_opratr ... but the keyword here is "usually." I have been known to adore movies EVERYONE thinks are dumb. But in the world of B-rated movies, THIS one is Z-rated. Absolutely ridiculous. The thing I respect about most of my favorite B-rated movies are that they don't take themselves too seriously. The makers of movies like that sort-of treat the movie lightly, even if it's a heavy topic. I get the impression, however, that the producers of this movie took themselves way to seriously, like they were putting together a 10-star classic, complete with poor attempts at poignant lines and dumb camera shots. Nevertheless, despite all this, I STILL gave it 4 out of 10 stars, as I am biased towards movies like this. If you're a B-rated fan, however, I would try too hard to find this one.
RHM-2 While surfing, I got hooked about mid-way thru the opening credits. Low-budget, yes -- but full of neat twists. Nick Mancuso is wonderful as a burnt-out cop, smoking, drinking, snarling at authority. Richard Geico looks like a beefy Mickey Rourke, spiky hair and all, and makes a good heavy. Both keep their characters and the story spinning.... One of the best things: no stopping action for sex (just watch Mancuso turn down a former lover).
JimFK An unusually straight-faced actioner played by a cast and filmed by a director who obviously took the material seriously. Imperfect, as is to be expected from a film clearly shot on a tight budget, but the drama is involving-- it's one of those films that when it gets repeated ad nauseum on Cinemax 2 or More Max or whatever they call it, you end up watching 40 minute blocks when you're supposed to be going to work. Along W/ "Deathstalker 2", "Chopping Mall", and "The Assault", a reminder that Wynorski is a much more talented director than many of his fellow low-budget brethern, who has a real ability to pace a genre film, when he actually's interested in the material (i.e., don't bother watching any of his Shannon Tweed flicks with a 3 or a 4 after the title!) Actors who've had too little to do recently (Mancuso, Ford, even Gary Sandy for chrissakes) really put their all into some of their best roles in years -- as for Grieco, he has the right look, although his acting is a bit one-note -- it's clear his character is supposed to be self-destructing throughout the film, but Grieco doesn't quite convey it. I checked IMDB and I see the writer also wrote "Sorority House Massacre 2" & "Dinosaur Island" for the director -- both minor classics in their own rights, but obviously "silly" Roger Cormon-like Cinema -- this one's more like some of the better Jonathan Demme and Jonathan Kaplan B-pictures of the 70's -- giving you the exploitation element but offering involving drama at the same time -- a real step forward. Not "Citizen Kane," and the comic final moments are a bit disruptive, but a well-written, character-driven above-average straight-to-video actioner. Small achievements like this should not be overlooked when they come along, which is rare enough (as I was reminded as I tried to sit through an Albert Pyun monstrosity called "Heatseeker" the other night -- this low-budget stuff isn't as easy as it looks -- but that's another story!)
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