SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

bkoganbing I'm betting that writer/director Robert Towne of Tequila Sunrise was a big fan of the great Warner Brothers classic Angels With Dirty Faces. That's the one where two kids who grow up to be James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, because one is caught by the authorities and one wasn't for some juvenile crime, one becomes a gangster and one becomes a priest.Here the mere fact that Kurt Russell was enjoying a midnight swim and Mel Gibson was caught smoking a joint on a Mexican beach makes all the difference in their lives. Russell becomes a cop, Gibson who gets protection in the Mexican prison from Raul Julia drug kingpin goes into the business. Little is left to the imagination about how Gibson enjoyed Julia's favor.Julia's wanted by just about everybody and while Gibson would really like to quit the business, he owes Julia and Julia is coming to the USA for a really big score. Putting Kurt Russell in a precarious position. It gets even more precarious when restaurant owner Michelle Pfeiffer arrives on the scene. She has a thing for both Gibson and Russell.This very unofficial redoing of Angels With Dirty Faces also from Warner Brothers is nicely updated to the glitzy 80s and all the players are doing some really good work here. Tequila Sunrise got an Oscar nomination for Cinematography and the way that fiery climax is photographed I can see why.I will say things work out a tad better than they did for James Cagney.

dierregi Classic thriller from the 80s, with good score and decent acting. I watched it several times without changing my mind about it being half-baked. The three leads are gorgeous: baby-blue eyes Gibson hardly more handsome, Pfeiffer stunning and Kurt Russell perfect as the sophisticated cop.Gibson is McKussic, an ex-drug dealer with a a crush on Pfeiffer's Jo Ann. He dines regularly at Jo Ann's restaurant just for a chat and a glance. Russell is Frescia, a cop who used to be McKussic childhood friend. Suspecting McKussic of dealing in Jo Ann restaurant, Frescia starts a close surveillance of Jo Ann and quickly falls for her, too.This part of the movie is quite good. The mixed feelings of the leads are believable enough and one wants to know how the triangle will develop. Caught in between McKussic and Frescia, Jo Ann wonders which one is more sincere and once she makes up her mind, she is "in love" within a few hours. The couple's cavorting are registered by the police, because the "romantic" moment takes place the night of a drug deal.At this stage, the plot derails with the introduction of drug-king Carlos. Only McKussic knows what Carlos looks like and he is supposed to be the middle man in some sort of drug deal, whether he wants it or not. Carlos is played by an overbearing Raul Julia, and he takes over the show.The movie goes quickly downhill as police vs. drug dealers action movie. Some scenes are weird and overlong, such as Carlos and McKussic playing table tennis in the middle of the night and Carlos singing an Italian aria. A predictable cop squabble is added into the mix and the ending is downright idiotic.In my opinion a character study of the triangle situation would have been more appropriate, because the set up worked really well in the first part. Unfortunately, the movie with some soul turned into predictable cop story.

SnoopyStyle 'Mac' McKussic (Mel Gibson) is a former drug dealer trying to stay clean. His close friend Nick Frescia (Kurt Russell) is in the drug taskforce in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. DEA Agent Hal Maguire (J. T. Walsh) insists that Mac is involved with faceless Mexican cartel leader Carlos. Maguire tries to get restaurant owner Jo Ann (Michelle Pfeiffer) to spy on Mac but she refuses. Nick gets close to Jo Ann as the task force closes in on Mac. Nick introduces Jo Ann to Mexican Federales Commandante Xavier Escalante (Raúl Juliá).This is a jumble messy noirish hard-boiled crime drama. The first noticeable thing is the need for more setup. It would be helpful to show the childhood friendship and even their relationship when they were cop and robber. They need to build up their story together so the audience can truly feel their closeness. Everything builds on that including the love triangle. The story is both as slow as molasses and as confused as an Iowa corn maze. I like the style and the acting is alright. However, the plot has no momentum and struggles to find any footing.

Jerry Toppa This was a really dumb movie. It's mainly a silly love-triangle romance with a super-thin, drug caper plot. I vaguely remember watching this one as a kid, and being very bored, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was about or anything. Now, here I am, watching it again, and it really is the same boring, stupid movie. It's nice to see Kurt Russell and Mel Gibson along with Michelle Pfeiffer, but not only that, it's also got Raul Julia and JT Walsh, two late, great character actors, from way back. I just wish it were in a better movie. Ironically, of these two film greats, both of whom I, myself, remember fondly, one's character kills the other, immediately before effectively bringing about his own death, while recklessly lashing out at one of the leads.This movie has some good parts, namely the acting, which I could find no fault with, but the nonsense crime plot and silly romance really hang it up.Frankly, I'm fairly amused by all the positive reviews, but also by the fact that the director, Towne, also wrote Chinatown, possibly the best film of it's type, and which was a far, far, better flick than this one. Worth noting: in addition to Chinatown, (and despite Tequila Sunrise), Towne is also credited with writing multiple other of my own personal favorite movies, such as The Last Detail, Frantic, The Firm, The Parallax View, Bonnie & Clyde, and even a couple of the Mission: Impossible movies. I guess everyone has a bad day, from time to time...