I hate giving this movie a 5 ... in fact, it should be less ... because it is a pleasant surprise in terms of plot, police procedure to a degree and pacing. Patrick Bergin does not overplay his role, which I appreciate, nor does the direction force him to.
But there are a couple of detractions. First is the pretty ridiculous sub-plot of rogue environmentalists which is where we have, and have not fairly early on, Gary Busey.
Second is the rather complicated denouement. It's pretty clear throughout that things aren't quite as they seem, which is good, but aside from a general suspicion about everybody I don't think we have a clue about what's coming. For a solution to be satisfying, in my view, we should be able to look back and say we just didn't pick up on the signs.
But, again, I liked Bergin in this, liked the acting level of and the characters' challenge to the actors, liked the script pretty well. Ultimately I was left with the feeling of wanting more of the detective and his sidekick ... don't all detectives from Perry Mason on have appealing female helpers? Perhaps there were supposed to have been more movies. Likely they would have been as welcome and thought-provoking.
But there are a couple of detractions. First is the pretty ridiculous sub-plot of rogue environmentalists which is where we have, and have not fairly early on, Gary Busey.
Second is the rather complicated denouement. It's pretty clear throughout that things aren't quite as they seem, which is good, but aside from a general suspicion about everybody I don't think we have a clue about what's coming. For a solution to be satisfying, in my view, we should be able to look back and say we just didn't pick up on the signs.
But, again, I liked Bergin in this, liked the acting level of and the characters' challenge to the actors, liked the script pretty well. Ultimately I was left with the feeling of wanting more of the detective and his sidekick ... don't all detectives from Perry Mason on have appealing female helpers? Perhaps there were supposed to have been more movies. Likely they would have been as welcome and thought-provoking.