Customer Reviews

The Mod Squad

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

There is a plot,the movie has style, but there is alot ofthings that this movie can do without. I hate the fact that they madeGiovanni Ribisi play his character as if he was still in his mentally challenged role in "The Other Sister". Also, the script could have been better; the screenwriter should have made up his mind on whether or not use the slang from the sixties, or stay with the nineties. And by the way, what the heck is up with Omar's wardrobe?

This movie is quite possibly the worst one I've seen all year. Please, pass it by. I'm begging you. This movie ought not to have been made. If the computer would let me give it negative stars, I would.

While Claire Danes is stunning in this slow, boring action flick, I found the film to be less than entertaining. The premise for "The Mod Squad" is excellent, and could have been just great, but the plot falls short of anything expected by the viewer. Although this movie is definitely not worth buying, it's a good choice for video rental.

And if it weren't for this fact, I would have turned this movie off 30 minutes into it. The cinematographer seems to have used Claire's looks to greatest advantage in the movie, as you see lots of close-up shots of her, brooding.

Giovanni Ribisi and Omar Epps spend most of the movie brooding, as well, and posing in scenes intended to make them look "cool." Other than that, the plot is insipid, the overall look of this movie is quite grey, and the movie itself seems to be a disconnected series of scenes, moving from one to the next. In fact, the movie is quite hard to follow because the scenes are mostly disconnected from each other. Moreover, the overall feel of the movie is grim: everyone has major problems or dies (or both) and almost nothing light or entertaining ever happens. Even the few scenes that attempt to inject some levity into the movie are trite (for example, Giovanni Ribisi drives Epps' convertible up to a car wash, and it accidentally gets caught in the wash track, leading to a good soaping of the interior) and ultimately fall flat.

If you want to get this movie to look at Claire Danes' captivating face, or perhaps you have a crush on Epps or Ribisi, then by all means, get the movie. You won't be disappointed. But if you are looking for a vehicle with a plot, some substance, or something enjoyable to watch, get something else.

Amazing how so much action, noise, pulsing rock music and lively young actors can add up to such a dull movie. I rated it one star because Amazon won't allow Zero stars. This one is unwatchable, literally. Not even laughable so you can't sit there and mock it. It is just boring and dull. Rent anything else at all - you're sure to like it better.

Having watched the series The Mod Squad, i was very excited they was making a movie. The movie sucked big time. Nothing like the series, very boring and confusing. It could have been a whole lot better movie.

When I heard they were doing a "re-make" of the ground-breaking, popular and critically-acclaimed Mod Squad tv show, I had a bad feeling about it. I decided to give it a shot, though. Big mistake. When about the only thing you keep from the original are the names, you know a movie is in trouble. They made Julie, who originally was very emotional and fragile, into a fistfighting brat, and turned the passionate Pete Cochran character into a clown and a moron. The director obviously had no regard for the original, which is too bad. The tv show Mod Squad was nominated for writing and acting Emmys; it broke ground on subjects from racism, to abortion and sex education. The actors were top-notch. None of that can be said about the movie. My recomendation - skip the movie, and rent videos of the original!

First of all, Peggy Lipton's Julie would have whipped Claire Danes' Julie two times over and thrice on Sunday. How such a cool TV show could go bad as a movie boggles the mind. Ribisi's a great actor, but he's totally miscast at Pete. Same goes for Omar - not the Linc I had in mind AT ALL!!

Seriously, those of us who actually paid money to see this dribble weren't going in for Masterpiece Theatre. What we got was the thrill of telling everyone we know that we paid to see one of the worst films of all time. Yippee.

I never really saw the original TV series since it wasn't in syndication in L.A. when I was coming up. But I also know better than to compare old with new. Look at the Charlie's Angels movies or Starsky and Hutch, and I'm sure they pale in comparison to their respective TV shows. Still, I think for the time this was released it was good. The acting wasn't great, sure, but at the same time to say there was no plot or action is a stretch. I'll admit that Giovanni Ribisi's Pete got on my nerves throughout the entirety of the film, but Claire Danes and Omar Epps make up for those shortcomings. And of course the running gag with Pete continuously messing up Linc's Continental was funny (yet slightly annoying). But I enjoyed Mod Squad ever since the first time I saw it, and I do own it on DVD. As far as TV remakes go, I'd say its way better than the aforementioned flicks, and you can throw in Dragnet as well.

Three young people on the wrong side of the law are given a chance to turn their lives around and become useful members of society by becoming undercover cops in "The Mod Squad," a resurrection of the hit television series of the `60's, directed by Scott Silver. Given their less than stellar backgrounds, and because of who they are and the people they know, Julie Barnes (Claire Danes), Pete Cochran (Giovanni Ribisi) and Lincoln Hayes (Omar Epps) can go places other cops can't, so they are tapped by Captain Adam Greer (Dennis Farina) to infiltrate a seedy night spot suspected of being a front for a prostitution ring. For a start, Julie gets a job there as a waitress, while Pete and Linc just "hang out" to find out what they may. Julie quickly becomes reacquainted with an old boyfriend, Billy Waites (Josh Brolin), who turns out to be involved with drugs, which are tied in to the shady dealings going down at the bar. Before it's over, the "squad" is in it up to their necks, while also running afoul of a bunch of wrong cops who are also involved with the drugs, and consequently tied in with their investigation. From the beginning of the movie, there is a sense that you are coming in late; as if it's presupposed that you know what's going on as far as the origin and workings of the squad. All you get here are brief mug-shot bios of the three that give you nothing more than a glimpse into their past; there's nothing about how this all actually came about. The thinking was probably that by doing it this way it would lead into the story quicker, get things moving along. While this is true to a certain extent, some added background would have made the texture of the story a bit more interesting; the way it was done here merely depreciates the credibility of the entire proceedings. The plot is marginal to begin with, and any time spent on character development would have been well worth the while. What's delivered, and quite unimaginatively at that, is a less than compelling story filled with one dimensional characters. The performances are satisfactory, but the actors get no help from the script, nor apparently from Silver; Danes, Ribisi and Epps come close to fleshing out Julie, Pete and Linc, but given the time allotted them, combined with the lack of support, they still fall way short of giving these people life. Farina, a good actor who deserves better than what he gets here, comes off as nothing more than a caricature of the "good cop." There's a feeling that everything was given the once-over in this film; some detail and nuance would have driven the stock up considerably on this one. The supporting cast includes Richard Jenkins (Detective Mothershed), Steve Harris (Briggs), Larry Brandenburg (Eckford), Lionel Mark Smith (Lanier) and Sam McMurray (Tricky). It's a shame to see the acting talent involved here wasted like this; a lot more thought and planning should have gone into the making of this movie. As it is, it comes across as ill-conceived and poorly executed. Danes, Ribisi and Epps are like Major Leaguers who got stuck playing for all the marbles at the local sandlot; instead of getting a shot at the title, they all got hung out to dry. Like Terry says in "On The Waterfront," "You was my brother, Charlie, you shoulda been looking out for me." Well, it's obvious that there was no Charlie to look out for them here, and after "The Mod Squad," they can all just hope for something better to come along the next time.