Review of The Taking of Beverly Hills

I'm sure that line was said a billion times by producers during meetings for this over-the-top action flick. Football team owner Robert Masterson (Robert Davi) concocts the elaborate scam of faking a toxic spill in the titular location and having his team of crooked ex-cops looting Rodeo drive once it is abandoned. What he didn't count on is his star quarterback Boomer Hayes (Ken Wahl) getting in the way. Boomer teams with Ed Kelvin (Matt Frewer), a conspiring cop who develops a conscience when folks start getting killed, and tries to stop the bad guys and save love interest Laura (Harley Jane Kozak). This won't win any awards for originality, but it is definitely action packed. Director Sidney J. Furie loves to blow some stuff up, even putting his leads in some precarious looking shots as nearly everything explodes. I imagine this would have worked better with a bigger name cast as the really has all the hallmarks of a big studio action picture. I could also imagine this would have been a perfect vehicle for Brian Bosworth post-STONE COLD. Frewer provides the comic relief and Wahl, popular on WISE GUY at the time, is passable in the lead. He never headlined another picture. Unfortunately, this never got a chance for a big audience as it was one of many causalities in Orion's collapse. Columbia eventually released it in 500 theaters in the fall of 1991. This still hasn't been released on DVD, which is a shame as it could use a widescreen presentation.