Ricochet (1991)

Directed by Russell Mulcahy. Starring Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Kevin Pollak, Lindsay Wagner, Ice-T, Victoria Dillard, Josh Evans, Mary Ellen Trainor, Sherman Howard, John Cothran Jr., John Amos. [R]

Amazingly overexcited thriller is right at home in director Mulcahy’s hands, full of unnecessary zooms, frantic pans, and melodramatic flair. Rookie cop Washington thwarts loony killer Lithgow, sending him to prison for an extended stint; Lithgow obsesses over his foe and eventually escapes, at which time he carries out a complicated (if obvious) plot to ruin the man’s life. Excessively silly, lurid and distasteful trash is accidentally hilarious and never boring, but it’s so pumped-up and unbelievable (underscored by Alan Silvestri’s jittery, overcooked music) that it’s impossible to take any of it seriously. If Lithgow chews the scenery, Washington at the very least gives it a nibble, especially toward the end when both of them are pushed to their limits during a clichéd vertiginous struggle. But to anyone who can’t bear the thought of missing a prison sword fight between Lithgow and Jesse Ventura, maybe give it a shot? Trainor plays the same character here as she did in Die Hard (both films were co-produced by Joel Silver).

41/100