Excessive Force (1993)

Directed by Jon Hess. Starring Thomas Ian Griffith, Lance Henriksen, Charlotte Lewis, Tony Todd, Tom Hodges, James Earl Jones, Danny Goldring, Richard Maw, Ian Gomez, Burt Young. [R]

Brainless, violent programmer features B-grade action with a D-grade script penned by star Griffith. Ordinary one-good-cop-versus-corrupt-colleagues-and-the-mob story “spiced up” by lots and lots of roundhouse kicks, scenery-chewing villainy from Henriksen, a few walk-ons from Jones, a little gratuitous sex, and so on. Biggest problem: after being a hammy delight in The Karate Kid Part III, Griffith takes himself and the material too seriously here, starting with a startling absence of the dumb one-liners these kinds of movies need like oxygen (after impaling an opponent with a pitchfork, how did the hero not quip, “Go fork yourself!”?). Inspired an in-name-only made-for-video sequel with a goofy subtitle: Excessive Force II: Force on Force.

33/100