Felony (1994) Reviews

• Mindless but fun, only due to the cast

  themoviebuff20032006-07-17

  Well, I'll probably get pounded for giving this one a medium rating, but I was able to set through this one even though the writing is bad, and so is the direction and editing. I just can't totally rip a movie that has this much talent in the cast. Pity that a better job couldn't have been done in all other areas. Lance Henricksen and David Warner, as well as Joe Don Baker, are great character actors, and although it pained me to see them wasted in this, they at least tried their best to give it some vestige of dignity. Counting those three, you've got about 9 or ten people here that are at least capable actors and have a following, including Ashley 'Hellraiser' Lawrence and Corrina 'Corey' Everson, who gets my vote for one of the hottest babes of all time-and both women were, sadly, never utilized properly by the powers that be in Hollywood. How the makers of this thing EVER were able to assemble all this great group is totally beyond me, but as I said, there's no other reason to watch this.

• Prior was surely going big-time with this one!

  tarbosh220002014-12-26

  When a "Cops"-like reality show films a drug bust, and said bust goes sideways, everyone in town wants the tape it was filmed on. The heinous massacre of twelve police officers caught on video was masterminded by arch-baddie Cooper (Warner), and the cameraman who barely made it out of there alive, a guy named Bill Knight (Combs) finds the next couple of days quite trying indeed. Everyone from Cooper's right-hand man Taft (Henriksen) to the mysterious Donovan (Baker) wants a piece of Knight. Meanwhile, Detectives Duke (Napier) and Kincade (Rossi) are working the case and trying to get to the truth of this tangled web. But when Knight meets an attractive nurse named Laura (Laurence), things seem to be looking up for Mr. Knight...but in this complicated web of twists, turns, and constantly changing allegiances, who can really tell? And who is going to commit the ultimate FELONY? David A. Prior, known to action fans all over as the AIP guy, here corrals an amazing B-movie cast for this non-AIP outing. It was 1995, video stores were booming, and with the right cast, they had a place for Felony on their shelves. With Jeffrey Combs as the main character, Ashley Laurence as the female lead and sidekick, and Lance Henriksen with an impressive array of multi-colored shirts, that was just the beginning. We get Joe Don Baker with a triumphant introduction to his character, with an alley rescue scene that is really a lot like the one in Ring of Steel, also with Baker. Maybe rescuing people in alleys is his "thing". And with his fringed jacket that he no doubt bought at the local buckskinnery, he gives Seagal a run for his money. Then there's Napier playing a guy named Duke, as he would right around the same time on The Critic, and Leo Rossi doing his best southern accent. Add to that David Warner with a grenade launcher and a small role from Cory Everson, and you have a recipe that raises Felony above the average dreck. Prior was surely going big-time with this one, indicated by not just the cast, and the fact that it was released by New Line, but also the level of stunt work, with PM-style car-flipping and blow-ups. Cooper even kills off a lot of cops just like baddies do in PM movies. And of course there is the standard pew-pew bullet shooting. He was aiming high, and it works for the most part. At least it's better-acted than usual, thanks to the experienced cast of familiar names. It's basically as dumb as an AIP movie (and we mean that in the best possible way, of course), with plot holes so big, Stephen Hawking has warned us all that they could potentially slow down the space-time continuum. But this time Mr. Prior has more resources at his disposal than usual. There are even some interesting contemporary references, like to the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan hoo-hah that everyone was talking about at the time. If only we could have heard David Warner utter the name "Gillooly", Felony would have shot up a few points. So go back to a time when strippers stripped to sleazy heavy metal (presumably this is the song "Dynamite" by a band called Psychic Underground listed in the end credits), and to a time when an array of B-movie stars such as this could assemble for a project like this.

• Baffling... but in a good way.

  ZombieRanger2010-03-12

  Alright I'll start this off by saying the box cover is a lie, and a confusing lie at that. Leo Rossi is featured prominently there, but has about 12 minutes of screen time and is not the focus of this movie. Despite appearing nowhere on the front cover, this movie stars Jeffrey "Re-Animator" Combs as a reporter(?) who captured footage of a drug deal/political agenda killing(?) and is being chased by drug dealers/cops/crooked and/or non-crooked government agents(?) You'll notice there's a bit of uncertainty in this statement, and that's because despite having watched this movie in its' entirety I'm not quite sure what happened. This movie is either the greatest action movie spoof of all time, or the most clichéd attempt at a serious action film of all time, all I know for sure is that I loved it. This movie has a downright stellar cast, Ashley Laurence(Hellraiser series), Lance Henrickson(everything ever made), David Warner(everything else), Charles Napier(that guy that's played a general in everything for the past 30 years), and the man himself, Joe Don Baker. The strangest thing about this movie is its' focal point. For the first 30 minutes or so it's nearly impossible to figure out who our star is. The movie jumps from character to character almost desperately searching for someone to follow. It almost feels like this was supposed to be a vehicle for an 80's action star, but the filmmakers couldn't secure one so they just shot the movie based on the secondary characters from the script. It really does play out like the intended gun-toting catchphrase spouting protagonist just forgot to show up. The movie gives us shootouts, car chases, explosions and double crosses, and you'll be hard pressed to figure out what's going on even when they explain it. This may not be your cup of tea, but I was absolutely astounded.

• Lacking in so many areas

  bsl052004-02-25

  Lance Henriksen has a knack for being the top name in a B-movie, even in this case starring along side Charles Napier, Master Control Program, and Joe Don Baker. As always he does a great job of being the bad guy, but the plot is just bad (don't even get me started about the ending). And the editing is so horrible it might actually be a thing of beauty. Is it just me, or does it seem that Joe Don Baker was spliced into the movie at the last minute? Also, anytime glass is broken in this movie, the editing is so anti-phenomenal. Lastly, after watching this, I figure David Warner is dying for Tron 2.0 to finally get the green light. Unfortunately for Felony, this will be the third movie I give the rating of 1/10, joining Iron Eagle IV and No Mercy.

• Cheese that does not please.

  Charlie Goose2004-01-03

  If you are a fan of low-low-budget action flicks, with semi-famous and once-famous stars, then you might allow yourself to enjoy this movie more than it deserves. Only Joe Don Baker seems to have put any life into his performance at all. The best David Warner could come up with was having his character chew gum loudly. The action follows a crew of a "Cops"-type reality show involved in a huge nighttime shootout that leaves a dozen police officers dead, although the plots has more holes than they do. The two guys in the crew, one of whom is a pained-looking Jeffrey Combs, film the massacre unbeknownst to the killers even though the camera was about twenty feet from them with the spotlight shining merrily. The rest of the movie has Combs being pursued by the killers who just happen to be a CIA splinter group, two bumbling cops, and a charismatic inter-agency spook mediator. The ending of the movie, which I won't dare spoil, is so laughable and totally implausible that it completely invalidates the entire plot. No exaggeration.