Amazon.com
The story line may seem familiar: to avenge his partner's murder--and uncover the killer--a tough Chicago cop comes to Louisiana and finds himself embroiled with a beautiful and enigmatic blonde, and a creepy crime lord. But the way this movie executes a seemingly standard plot is unique, entertaining, and effective. Richard Gere, as the cop Eddie Jillette, is an appropriate fish-out-of-water, uncovering a complex and frightening underworld. Under Richard Pearce's skillful direction both he and Kim Basinger, as Michel Duvall, are credibly drawn to each other as they're accidentally handcuffed and running through the eerie bayou.
But also credit James Carabatsos's script, which appropriately captures Jillette's grief and obsession, his anger and confusion, his growing understanding and affection for Michel. As in Terminator, there's a particularly well done love scene, borne out of passion and desperation, and the chemistry between Gere and Basinger is very evident. Good support comes from William Atherton as the fey attorney Allan Deveneux, Jeroen Krabbé as the evil Losado, George Dzundza as Captain Stemkowski, Bruce McGill as Lieutenant Hall, and the late Ray Sharkey as Angles Ryan.
No Mercy, like Angel Heart before it, uses its mystical, magical Louisiana setting to its best advantage--it's beautiful, yet frightening; mysterious, yet compelling--like Michel, and like the movie itself. --N.F. Mendoza
Amazon.com
No Brains is more like it. Richard Gere stars in this slick action thriller as your basic tough-but-dedicated cop who goes to New Orleans to avenge the death of his partner. On the way, he becomes involved with an illiterate Cajun beauty (Kim Basinger in the kind of role that unkind critics would call her typecast in before
Ready to Wear and, of course,
L.A. Confidential) who's the property of a ruthless killer. It's paint-by-numbers nonsense with lines (such as "we come from a society where it is very pleasurable to be a man") that play as high camp--unfortunately, that's not intended. Gere and Basinger's relationship--they'd try again, equally unconvincingly, with
Final Analysis--is patently silly. They spend the first half of the movie exchanging hilariously sultry meaningful glances, until they're on the lam together, where the burning question is which actor's hair will be more stylishly mussed.
--David Kronke
