Customer Reviews

Next of Kin

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Quick - can you name a movie that has Ben Stiller, Patrick Swayze, Helen Hunt, Liam Neeson, Bill Paxton, and Adam Baldwin in it? Probably not, as most people can't, and what a shame. "Next Of Kin" is a fine portrayal of the "Eastern Mountain Way" as well as the love of family and the bond of brothers.

I enjoyed this movie greatly. Although the plot has been somewhat rehashed many times the performances here stir emotion. Especially Liam Neeson's. If not for his performance in this movie I probably would have given it 4 stars, but he shines brightly here. The loyalty and love of his character combined with the contempt and anger of his character, what a great performance.

When this movie first came out I didn't even know it. I don't know how it fell off the radar screen before ever being noticed but it is cerainly worth a look.

Buy it - enjoy it, over and over.

In terms of just pure plot, Next of Kin is -- in many ways -- a typical example of the unconventional cop vs. the mob film genre of the 1980s...However, if Next of Kin is ultimately a genre piece, its still a better-than-average example of the what the genre is capable of. Certainly, its probably the only film ever made by Patrick Swayze that can legitimately be called underrated.

Plotwise, the film sounds almost like a parody. Patrick Swayze is a former hillbilly from Appalacia Country who has left behind his rustic family to become a big city cop and to romance sophisticated music teacher Helen Hunt. (Is there a reason why big city cops with simple backgrounds always seem to end up romancing music teacers in these films?) Swayze's younger brother Bill Paxton also comes to the city, to pursue a life of petty crime that ends up getting him killed by mobster Adam Baldwin which leads to yet another Swayze brother coming down to the city, this one played by Liam Neeson. As Neeson seeks revenge, Swayze is forced to return to his roots in order to avenge both his brother and protect his girlfriend.

Yet somehow, all of this works rather effectively on screen. The film is directed by Englishman John Irvin who has made a rather unsung career out of bringing a stronger-than-usual sense of characterization to genre films (the best example being the war film Hamburger Hill). Although Irvin's filming of the action scenes are a little pedestrian, he still has a strong visual sense and manages to vividly contrast the conflicting worlds of the country and the city. The film's supporting cast is well chosen and both the heroes and the villians all come to life with a surprising amount of dignity. At no point do any of the actors demean their roles by playing ...typical hillybillys or, for that matter, ...typical mobsters and that shows an unusual and admirable amount of integrity for a film of this sort. Paxton isn't on screen long but remains, as always, a likeable presence and Adam Baldwin makes a compellingly understandable and hissable villian. Michael J. Pollard shows up as a hillbilly and brings his trademark quirkiness to the proceedings while the role of the nerdy mob scion is played by Ben Stiller, of all people. Its a little jarring to see Stiller show up on screen (especially playing an essentially villianous role) yet he gives a strong performance without resorting to do any standard Stiller bits. Helen Hunt's role is ...typical but she's probably far warmer in this role than she's been in any of her prestige pictures. Certainly, the best performance in the film is given by Liam Neeson who dominates the proceedings with the grim sincerity he brings to his quest for revenge. This Irish actor also manages to perfectly capture the unique accent of the Appalacian region. As an actor, Patrick Swayze has always been limited and he's always been better at projecting sincerity than complexity. Luckily, his role in Next of Kin has been designed to require little more of him than sincerity and, if Next of Kin doesn't represent his best performance, its certainly his most likeable.

Next of Kin isn't a great film. As stated before, the story is a tad bit too predictable and that's only made more obvious when the story is populated by a better-than-average cast and directed by a truly talented director. However, this is a rare genre piece in which it is obvious that everyone involved actually put in their best efforts to make a worthwhile film and the results are both admirable and entertaining.

I loved this movie before I knew who Liam Neeson, Helen Hunt, Ben Stiller, Bill Paxton were! I still love it today. My younger brother knew that I had been wanting to see it again and he gave me my own copy for my birthday. I don't know why Adam Baldwin is listed here as the star, though. Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson are clearly the stars of this movie. If you live in the South, then you realize the closeness of these people and their desire to avenge their family is not too far fetched. There are so many interesting characters in this movie. I have always felt that one day someone would be digging around and unearth this old gem.

Patrick Swaze is the big city cop from the backwoods whose younger brother is shot dead by the mob and he vows to track down those responsible.

However,when he takes his brothers body home to be buried,his elder brother,loose cannon Liam Neeson,is disappointed with the lack of direct action;and threatens to become involved.

Neeson does become involved with tragic results which brings a variety of strange hillbilly types into the big smoke to extract retribution.

Reasonable action thriller,but could have done with more of"the kin"and Michael J Pollard;now approaching the veteran stage;steals every scene he appears in.

Damn good movie and entertaining, too. Being a Kentuckian, I liked how it showed the differences of the eastern Kentucky mountain people's environment, lifestyles, and their beliefs, which is still carried on to this very day, in contrast to the big city's(Chicago)smug, fast-paced attitude. The guy traveling in a converted school bus full of snakes was a bit hard to swallow, and how Liam Neeson's character could find his way around Chicago, and never having been there, is a mystery to me. Yes, there are many bow hunters in Kentucky!! They have a special time during deer hunting strictly for bow. And, yes, they are good with them! But, the movie as a whole is fun to watch with a big bowl of popcorn. Might not be suitable for small children due to language and violence.

Great acting from Liam Neeson and Patrick Swayze. Wish some who reviewed the movie had watched it more carefully. Gerald (Truman's brother) wasn't doing anything illegal, he worked for a company with vending machines who were targeted by the Chicago mob for takeover--he got caught in a takeover mob killing. And Truman's (Swayze) brother's name was Briar (so typically mountain)--not Blair. And a reviewer wondered how Briar (Neeson) knew Chicago so well since he had never been there--Briar clearly states at Gerald's funeral he HAS been to Chicago and didn't like it, he returned home to Ky.--so that's why he knew his way around town. Both Neeson and Swayze do a great job in expressing the culture of the "hills" versus the Chicago life. Helen Hunt is good as Truman's (Swayze) wife. The scenes of the hills when Truman takes Gerald's body home for burial is so true to life, the snake bus, the relatives and their desire to settle things their way, the houses (and Briar's old RV-home), the deer head in the refrigerator and the scenes of the hill country--just exactly the way it is.

Truman has gone to Chicago to make himself a better life. He's still a "mountain boy" at heart but his family back in the hills are as real as it gets. Gerald, the younger brother, has followed him to Chicago to make some money to buy a coal truck and return back to Kentucky. Also, for any who might know "mountain music", Truman, Gerald and Briar's mother is played by Jean Ritchie, one of the most famous and best of the traditional mountain dulcimer players and song writers in the business. It was a treat to see her in the role of Mom. This is a great movie, so very underrated, great acting, good story line, good paring of actors with intensity. Swayze is great as usual, Neeson can't be beat, his accent is perfect as is his look for this movie.

I loved the response (as my subject line) Truman made when he was called to a seedy hotel to get a "mountain boy" involved in a murder to surrender--Truman knew Chicago as a Chicago cop--and he knew the mentality of the mountain culture--an eye for an eye and you settle your differences yourself. There were a number of great one-liners in this movie--some I particularly liked were Swayze's "enticement" to Helen Hunt for a little romp upstairs, "do you believe in the hereafter, then you know what I'm here after" and "wanna play on my teetertotter"--too funny.

The music was great in this movie, a little culture and a lot of country. Swayze again wrote a song especially for this movie--"Brothers" sung by Swayze and Larry Gatlin.

Great movie and one I will watch over and over.

This movie shows up every once and while on tv and if I see I stop and watch it. It doesn't matter if it is the begining, middle, or the end, I stop and watch. Each time something shows up that I just shake my head at. For example the music is a mixture of old hill music with some classical type pieces thrown in. It takes a few viewings but you wonder how this music came to be in a "action" movie. The accents are wonderful. West Virgina accents are done to perfection. The phone call to relatives in West Virgina telling them about the death of one of their own, is a gem. In very few words and set of the mouth you feel the pain, and anger of a family. The gathering of the klan in West Virgina has a quiet dignity to it. The family loading up guns, bows, and snakes, then pausing to pick up the sandwitches that their wives have made is not funny, but moving. Forget about Patrick Swayse, the real stars are supporting cast. You see them and then shake you head at how far they have come as actors. A strange movie, but a satisfing one.

Great movie, Being from a lil place not terribly east of Perry County, the place where the movie was filmed, is sorta my old stomping grounds. Its a lost thing almost in this world but, when you get in the back woods of the Appalachian mountains, people sorta stick together, and still watch over one another.

Anyway.. about the snake bus being "over the top" mentioned in an earlier review. That bus exists, it used to visit the Paintsville Apple Festival every year, and he used to bring it to my gradeschool regularly for education about the snakes. Mind you the tanks were better situated than in the movie, and well taken care of. Most of the snakes in the real bus were quite venemous as well. Regardless, the bus in the movie, bit for bit, is an exact replica of the old snake bus. IIRC the snake man was from Hazard, Ky *which has no relation to the dukes of hazzard which was georgia*and took it to Hillbilly Days in Pikeville as well... anyway just my 2c and a little background to the movie.

Let's face it, Patrick Swayze's 1980s ouevre is a guilty pleasure... Dirty Dancing, Road House, Uncommon Valor, and of course Next of Kin.

One of the best things about this movie is the chance to see some of the hottest stars of the 1990s in supporting roles... Ben Stiller as a mafia boss' son, Helen Hunt as Swayze's wife, Bill Paxton and Liam Neeson as Swayze's hillbilly brothers.

It also has one of the greatest Swayze quotes... "You ain't seen bad yet. But it's comin'."

Definitely high on the guilty pleasure scale, Next of Kin is a must-watch for those who enjoy a film's kitsch factor.

Next of Kin follows Truman Gates, a Chicago cop from Kentucky. One of his brothers is murdered by the nearly psychotic nephew of a local Mob boss during a truck hijacking. Long story short, Truman's older brother Briar (Liam Neeson) comes up to Chicago wanting mountain family style revenge. Truman does his best to keep his brother restrained and for the police to handle it. Ultimately, a disgruntled Truman resigns and joins his family in getting justice served their own way.

In addition to Swayze and Neeson, the movie also stars Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, and a young then-24 year old Ben Stiller. Liam Neeson as Briar was pretty good. Other than Swayze, Neeson gave a very good performance. Briar gave off an air of wanting to just let loose on the people he wanted to get back at but wanting to listen to his brother at the same. It was also interesting seeing Ben Stiller play a more serious straightforward character as the son of the local organized crime boss.

The DVD itself is pretty basic. There's no special features to speak of. Though in its defense, the DVD was released not too long after DVDs really started hitting the shelves in the late 90s and was not an uncommon sight at the time for no special features to be included.

It's a fairly decent action movie though it also deals with Truman and his family's interaction (most notably his older brother). Not an explosion after explosion Die-Hard kind of action movie, but a bit more subtle.

All in all, Next of Kin is definitely a Patrick Swayze movie worth seeing. It's too bad that this movie seems to be so underrated and forgotten. I actually had never heard of the movie myself until last year when I saw it in Wal-Mart. I've always liked Patrick Swayze so I decided to buy it. Worth the money, if you ask me.