U.S. Marshals

Rating:
Summary: U.S. Marshals
Review: An ultimately futile attempt to make lightning strike twice, this so-called spinoff from 1993's blockbuster The Fugitive avoids the label of "sequel" by forging ahead without the first film's star, Harrison Ford. The idea is to showcase the return of Tommy Lee Jones in his Oscar-winning role as tenacious U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard, this time testing his mettle against a covert government operative (Wesley Snipes) accused of murdering two secret service attachés. Unfortunately, Jones and the entire cast have been trapped in a rambling plot, and the underdog status that made Ford such a compelling hero is sacrificed to an evenly matched and eventually tiresome game of cat and mouse, with a villain whose identity is far too predictable. With no dramatic buildup and several superfluous characters to distract its focus, the film's momentum plays out like a rote exercise compared to the high stakes of the earlier film.

Rating:
Summary: what? no box for zero stars
Review: Tired and tiresome.

Lemme get this straight. They remake the Fugitive with the Star Wars guy and everybody knows the one armed man did it. Everyone except Al Gore's very old undergrad roommate. No, this dude will go to the ends of the earth to get his man, taxpayer's rights and flower beds be darned.

So, the audience likes this creep so much, we get a sequel in which he, in an Arky accent, does a hard target search on every backrow, hedgerow, cornrow and Scott Turow to get his man, cost in dollars, lives and dignity be damned. Oh, yeah, one more thing, IT IS, AGAIN, THE WRONG FLOCKING GUY!!! We know that because he is a brother and this fossil apparently only shines when he is centeredly in the wrong. Does no one else find this a tad creepy?

Don't watch this, try something edifying like women's pro basketball. My public access channels run JUCO women's volleyball. Whoo Hoo!!! Good for hours at a time.

This has been a LawDog "I have not and never will see this movie" review. Not reviewed for typos.

Rating:
Summary: Check It Out
Review: Although I don't consider U.S. Marshals™ to be as good an outing as The Fugitive™ flick, it made a valiant and for the most part effective effort to match up to its predecessor. If you're lookin' for thrills, action, intrigue, Tommy Lee Jones chewin' the scenery with the same zeal and sense of fun as he did in the first movie and yadda yadda yadda and all those other bits o' hype & cliches you've already heard ad nauseam-- well, you might wanna watch The Fugitive™ first. And then if you like what'cha see there, you just might find this flick likable as well. And if you're thinkin' of buyin' this, just remember that for every copy of this that sells, co-star Robert Downey Jr. gets that much closer to payin' off his rehab tab! How's THAT for a humanitarian gesture, hmm?

Normally, I'd start out this paragraph with a brief synopsis of the flick. But for this review, I've decided to go the lazy route: if you want an overview of U.S. Marshals™' great and/or not-so-great moments, take a gander at the other customer reviews posted here. As for picture and sound quality, I found the former among of the sharpest and cleanest of the WB™'s DVD library, and the latter above-average.

The extra features included on this platter are somewhat sparse compared to most 'Special Edition' DVDs. As expected, the original theatrical trailer is included, as are a few TV spots. Then there's the text mini-bios of the principal cast and crew, as well as a text overview on the production and shooting of U.S. Marshals™. Also thrown in is a ten-minute-long mini-doc on the history of the U.S. Marshal Service. But the main attraction here is a nine-part look at the plane-crash sequence, featuring behind-the-scenes looks at the models, setups, and other things that were involved to create this moment of movie magic. If nothing else, this breakdown of one scene is definitely a must-see for the special-effects buff.

Finally, there's the director's commentary audio track. Unfortunately, I wasn't all that excited by Mr. Baird's discussion about the making of the film. His commentary for the most part revolved around the technical aspects of the movie, which I guess is understandable considering the fact he used to be a noted editor before he became a director. Also, his somewhat low-key and rather unemotional delivery made for a nearly-comatose listening experience. But on the upside, he doesn't really have too much to say anyway-- about two-thirds of the track doesn't even have any commentary on it at all!

Now it's time for me to slap an epilogue onto this bunch o' text, which I'll title 'The Big Gripe'. It's a gripe that I've brought up in just about every one of my previous reviews of DVDs released by Warner Bros™. But since my words apparently just ain't gettin' through to the right folks, I'm gonna bring it up again, and again, and again until someone finally takes a freakin' hint (you readin' this, Ted Turner?!)! What is this thing about WB™ platters that makes me almost go postal every time I think about it, you ask? Well, here's the deal: Why is Warner still putting their movie platters in cardboard snap cases, when just about every other studio uses plastic cases?! I dunno 'bout anybody else, but I'm more than willin' to lay down a few more shekels for a DVD cover that won't start to fall apart on me after a year! Is that too much to ask?!

'Late

Rating:
Summary: U. S. Marshals: Any Fugitive Will Do
Review: It is an axiom that whenever Hollywood has done something right to create a hit movie, aside from a few notable exceptions, it is also an axiom that a sequel will be made that is noticeably inferior to the original. Director Anthony Davis used the acting talents of Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford to create a new and visually entertaining, if not comparable, filmed version of THE FUGITIVE, based on the hit television series of the 1960s. This FUGITIVE was watchable, mostly because the audience could empathize if not sympathize with the doctor on the run. The follow up to THE FUGITIVE is the still visually entertaining but hollow U. S. MARSHALS.
U. S. MARSHALS is not, strictly speaking a sequel, no more so than Mickey Rooney was in the Andy Hardy series of the 1940s. What director Stuart Baird has done was to take one of the two protagonists from THE FUGITIVE and set him off on a new chase with a new fugitive. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with a cop-chasing-a-fugitive theme. That has been done many times, sometimes quite well. The problem here is that the movie was touted as a sequel to THE FUGITIVE. U. S. MARSHALS could easily have had a few modifications to eliminate any connection to THE FUGITIVE, and if it had, then it would have been forced to stand on its own feet. But because it is set in the world of Deputy Marshal Sam Gerard, comparisons are inevitable and unflattering. In any escape movie, the seeker must have a credible motivation for chasing the fugitive. Barry Morse, who played Lt. Philip Gerard in the television series, had tons of that as he saw it as his own personal failure that Richard Kimble escaped. Sam Gerard had somewhat less motivation in the first movie version, but because the movie boiled down to an exciting set piece of escapes involving more of personality than of athletic stunt filming, the audience was inclined to swallow Gerard's monomaniacal hunt for Kimble. In U. S. MARSHALS, there is simply no need for Gerard to get personally involved, since it was not his fault that the Wesley Snipes character escaped. As for Wesley Snipes, he was simply the wrong choice to play the man on the run. His forte is bashing athletic ability and sheer physical presence. David Janssen to a huge degree, and Harrison Ford to a lesser degree, personified the intellectual Everyman, caught not in a conspiracy as the Snipes persona is, but rather in having had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The viewer simply cannot connect to Snipes, who comes across as a CIA spook Rambo. The majority of the film is Snipes ducking in and out of danger using his superbly conditioned body with Gerard one step behind, never quite catching him. Gerard's earlier failure to catch Kimble was eminently forgivable. His current failure to catch Snipes exposes him an incompetent chaser of men, thus furthering the emotional distance between viewer and pursuer. Complicating matters is the subplot concerning Robert Downey, who plays a marshall who is in conflict with Gerard. Downey is revealed as some sort of turncoat or traitor who kills good guys but does so in a way that makes no sense. His stated motivation for his deceit was so full of holes that I was left gasping.
U. S. Marshals, then is a failure and stands as a beacon reminder that what worked once need not work again unless some intelligent thought is given as to why the characters do what they do. Gaudy special effects cannot compensate for lack of creativity. Hollywood seems to have a hard time learning this lesson.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: I have both the Fugitive and U.S. Marshal's on video, and yes there are similarities (spectacular crash, from which convict escapes, then is chased after by a U.S. Marshal for the rest of the movie). Other than that I can't see any more similarities.
They're both great, and I don't think U.S. Marshal's is just a clone of the Fugitive, because it isn't. This movie is great and if you like action. you will enjoy this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the Fugitive, but definitely recommended.
Review: This is a great action-packed movie. The plot and suspense weren't nearly as great as the outstanding Fugitive starring Harrison Ford, but the action and gunfights certainly make up for it. If you liked the Fugitive's style of action, you'll love this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Show Stopper
Review: I'll tell you right from the start, GET THIS MOVIE. This is one for the records if you like movies that are full of action and that grips you.
Right from the start, you have to pay attention to the details and that's what makes the movie take off for you. Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes are the best duo even though the play opposite roles in this intence movie. I tell you, it had me on the edge of my seat. A Movie you could watch over and over again. I HOPE THEY MAKE A SECOND ONE (Part II)?

Rating:
Summary: Tommy lee Jones...works for me.
Review: It's a nice little showcase for Tommy Lee Jones. Cranky Grumpy and not having any fun here. Given Wesley snipes to run to ground. Who really cares if he's guilty or innocent? We just wanna watch Mr Jones.

Rating:
Summary: A movie with some sentimental value
Review: Well, living in podunk, Midwestville, USA, there's very seldom any Hollywood production in our neck of the woods. So what am I talking about? Parts of U.S. Marshals were filmed near my little ol' hometown in the Shawnee National Forest, IL (north of Paducah, KY). The scene where Wesley Snipes hijacks the semi-trailer truck takes place at a Corps of Engineers-built rest area just ~30 miles south of my town. In fact I recall seeing the truck sitting there (obviously as a prop) about during the time this movie was being filmed. (The rest area isn't hardly used any more since most people drive more than 20 miles at a time before they need a break). Anyway, another scene where there's a police car coming across a bridge is at the Brookport Bridge coming into Paducah, KY. The airplane wreck scene itself was shot down along the Ohio River near a town called Golconda where they have U.S. Marshal posters up in some local restaurants to commemorate the filming.

Well anyway, that's all I have to say. My family and I were really into this film for the above reasons.

Rating:
Summary: ...Ive Never Seen the Fugitive...
Review: After I saw "The Client" w/Tommy Lee Jones in 1994, U.S. Marshals appealed to me as it did to probably anyone else watching it...Tommy Lee Jones WAS the star. The good thing about this sequal is that it takes off from it's own feet, without relying on events that took place during the first movie. Jones and his all-star team are out to get a Federal fugitive (Wesley Snipes) who is accused of killing two agents in cold blood. Snipes, proclaiming his innocents, runs from the Marshals while chasing yet another focus of the manhunt to clear his name. Ironically, the one man responsible for this whole scenerio is harbored unknowingly under the wing of the law. The plot is easy to follow, unlike puzzle movies like "The Saint" (which a friend made me suffer through years ago), which was so overdone in this 'spy' kinda thing that you couldn't even follow the plot line at all. Robert Downey Jr. makes a guest appearance on the Marshals squad, the star-packed cast is like an insurance policy for the movie which relys on the award-winning talents of the actors if the plot fails with some people. Up-to-date and smart 'cowboys and Indians' flick, plenty of great acting and one hell of a cast.