The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)

Directed by Sidney J. Furie. Starring Ken Wahl, Matt Frewer, Harley Jane Kozak, Robert Davi, Lee Ving, Lyman Ward, Branscombe Richmond, William Prince, George Wyner. [R]

The corrupt owner (Davi) of L.A.’s football team masterminds a fake toxic chemical spill in Beverly Hills so the area can be evacuated and his crew of disgruntled ex-cops can ransack the homes and vaults of the super-rich residents. Here to save the day: veteran star quarterback Wahl, who was about to get lucky with the surprisingly pliable Kozak at his Beverly Hills home when everything went down. Lots of explosions and bad dialogue—just what you want from an enterprise of mindless mayhem like this—but director Furie doesn’t give it enough style or raise the stakes toward a big, stupidly heroic finale (he only bothered with the “stupidly” part). Despite his pedigree as a Fratelli and a Bond villain, Davi makes for a surprisingly dull baddie here, and the hero has the charisma and energy level of the actor’s misspelled namesake (the brick variety, that is). As a police officer who has a change of heart shortly after the operation gets underway, Frewer demonstrates again that someone should have cast him as the older brother or father of a Jim Carrey character at some point in their careers (Vic Ventura: Pet Therapist, anyone?). Pamela Anderson evidently makes her film debut in a bit part as a cheerleader, but I must’ve missed her.

36/100