RA: Excessive Force

Last Updated on July 26, 2021

EXCESSIVE FORCE (1993)
Rating: 2.5 out of 4 /Buy the DVD Here

Tagline: You have the right to remain silent… permanently.

Directed by Jon Hess
Starring: Thomas Ian Griffith, Charlotte Lewis, Tony Todd, Burt Young and Lance Henrikson

THE PLAN: Chicago detective Terry McCain is a good cop dammit! He karate-kicks mobsters, plays the piano, can handle his liquor, hangs out with James Earl Jones, and resists corruption. Gotta love him. So when his fellow policemen start dropping like flies at the hands of a slimy mobster, you can bet Terry is going to smack around his enemies.

THE KILL: It was the early 90s, and the movies were stupid with action stars. While Arnold and Sly were still kings of art of ass-kicking, a new breed of agile action star was coming into his own. Of course, you know dudes like Jean-Claude, and Seagal. But do you recall a certain Thomas Ian Griffith? Griffith round-housed his way into our hearts as the villainous Terry Silver in THE KARATE KID PART III, but was determined to slap us silly with a different “Terry” in EXCESSIVE FORCE, which presented us with a kinder, gentler Griffith… Well, kind to his friends, that is.

Griffith stars as Terry McCain, Chicago’s go-to guy for kicking scumbags through plate-glass windows and breaking their limbs the wrong way. That’s on a good day. But when his biggest nemesis, De Marco (Burt Young) gets out of trouble for the third time, and his partners begin to die, well, it’s no more Mr. Nice Karate Guy. Terry is given a license to kill by his frowny boss (Lance Henriksen), although it’s more like a license to flying-kick. Terry quickly goes around bustin’ heads, faces, arms, legs, nutsacks, chests, asses – you name it, he puts his foot on it, or against it. It also helps if there’s something he can throw you against to finish the fight – a table, a garbage can, another guy. Most objects will do.

This trailer leaves no doubt as to whether or not the title is EXCESSIVE FORCE

EXCESSIVE FORCE was written and produced by Griffith, who obviously convinced someone at New Line Cinema that bankrolling his vanity project would lead to a slew of future projects and eventually, the A-list. Why that happened is hard to pin-point. Griffith isn’t an unlikable star, and not a terrible actor, but he’s not quite cool enough to fully engage us. He neither has Jean-Claude’s dynamic moves, nor Seagal’s intimidating intensity; he’s just a little too slick, perhaps too handsome. He looks like he belongs on the cover of a cheesy romance novel, not cleaning up the streets.

If Griffith doesn’t exactly light up the screen, he’s got plenty of co-stars willing to take the spotlight from him. Any movie where Tony “Candyman” Todd and Lance “800 movie bad guys” Henriksen try to out-growl each other is a must see in my book. Throw in Burt Young, who is apparently on speed-dial whenever Hollywood needs an oily Italian, and James Earl Jones as a Jazz loving bar owner, and you’ve got a supporting cast that more than makes up for Griffith’s not-ready-for-prime-time screen presence.

What do these things do..?

Oh yeah, and early 90s spank material Charlotte Lewis reminds us why we were ever able to sit through THE GOLDEN CHILD. (EMBRACE OF THE VAMPIRE will forever be her shining moment, however.)

On the whole, EXCESSIVE FORCE is a middle-of-the-road action-thriller, no worse than many, but not badass enough to make it a forgotten classic of the genre. For a much better example of this type of flick, check out Seagal’s OUT FOR JUSTICE, which is tougher and meaner, features better kills, a cooler villain, and is just a better film… F*ck, why didn’t I review that one?!

You’ve hit the “OW THAT F*CKIN HURTS!” brain nerve…

TOP DEATH: As you can see above, a mobster learns firsthand that sometimes the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

TOP ACTION: A trio of hoods descend upon Terry’s farm house and promptly eat their own shit at Terry’s (and his woman’s) hands. (Terry’s not above using a gun to murder baddies.)

FEMALE EXPLOITATION: We get to see Charlotte Lewis’ delicious ta-tas in a sex scene that – of course – comes out of nowhere… The best kind!

HOMOEROTIC MOMENT: Griffith plays the piano while James Earl Jones dances a little jig for him. Can there be a more tender moment between two men?

TOP DIALOGUE: Terry (to goon): Give it up!

Goon: F*CK you!
Terry: Oh that’s original.

DRINKING GAME: Since I want to get you drunk, I’ll say have a shot every time you hear that punching-beef noise whenever someone gets smashed in the face. You’ll end up in the hospital at the end of the night, but thank me in the morning…

TRIVIA: EXCESSIVE FORCE II: FORCE ON FORCE was released two years later, having nothing at all to do with this film. (It also has the distinction of featuring the same word three times in its five word title.)

BUY THE DVD HERE!