Excessive Force

1992

Action

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 20% · 5 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 35% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.4/10 10 1729 1.7K

police shootout shoulder holster police shootout

Director

Jon Hess Photo
Jon Hess

Top cast

Ian Gomez Photo
Ian Gomez as Lucas
E.J. Murray Photo
E.J. Murray as News Reporter
Lance Henriksen Photo
Lance Henriksen as Devlin
Tony Todd Photo
Tony Todd as Frankie Hawkins
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
795.52 MB
1280*692
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds 2
1.44 GB
1920*1038
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by nixolympica-10055 6 / 10

Failed to capitalize on Karate Kid Pt III

The most interesting thing about this film is that it failed to lauch a leading man career for Thomas Ian Griffith. Griffith had a starring role as the villain in 1989's The Karate Kid Part III. I remember at the time seeing the trailers for this that I wasn't surprised to see the actor who brought the terrifying Terry Silver to life being given his own film. It seemed like an obvious move. He had good looks, impressive physical martial arts skills, and was a charismatic actor as well. So why did it bomb at the box office? Having just re-watched the film, these are my thoughts.It's just not a good movie for one. Excessive Force is what is known as a "star vehicle." A film written solely to cater to an actor's strengths. Interestingly this vehicle was written by the star himself. The real problem is the film's premise, so it was doomed from the start. Griffith should have starred in a martial arts themed movie rather than a karate cop crime thriller. Just imagine if Jean Claude Van Damme had tried to start his movie career in a cop thriller where he does spin kicks rather than the martial arts tournament films Bloodsport and Kickboxer. He may never have had a career. Griffith was trained in taekwondo, which specializes in kicks and especially head kicks. I lost count of how many spinning hook kicks Griffith used to defeat an enemy in this movie. It just doesn't seem as tough or as useful as Steven Seagal's aikido strikes and joint locks. Something should have been mentioned about how unusual it is for a six and a half foot tall cop to be karate kicking crooks all over town. But as I mentioned earlier, the story is the real problem.Terry (the same name he had in The Karate Kid Part III) is involved in an action scene in the beginning before we even know a thing about him. And we never really do learn who he is. He plays the piano, he dresses stylishly, and he's a cop. We don't really know much else. Griffith's height was a bit of a problem for him being a leading man. He towers over everyone else. He really does seem better suited for the role of the villain. The supporting cast really help this film and it's worth watching for Lance Hendrickson, Tony Todd, and James Earl Jones. I should also mention Burt Young who made a good mobster, but is sadly not in the movie enough. That also hurt the movie, that as the layers of the plot unfold, the bad guys keep changing.If you like violent rated R action movies I think you will like this one. It's just a missed opportunity more than anything. If they wanted Griffith to play a cop then they should have cut back on the taekwondo, maybe had him take out the dangling earring, and not make him so chic looking. He would have been better off with the slicked back Seagal style haircut he had in The Karate Kid Part III rather than the feathered styled look he had here. He just doesn't look tough. He looks like a model.
Reviewed by tarbosh22000 6 / 10

For a fun beat/shoot 'em up, try Excessive Force!

Reviewed by merklekranz 6 / 10

Gets better as it goes along .....

What starts out looking like a vanity project for Thomas Ian Griffith, eventually morphs into a pretty good action flick. There are some pretty good actors that contribute mightily. Burt Young always delivers an interesting performance, with bad guys his specialty. Here he dishes out some out of the ordinary violence. For the first half of the film, I was wondering what James Earl Jones was doing in the movie? Only in the second half does his character gets more involved. Griffith high kicks his way through a nice assortment of bad guys who have zero character development. Towards the conclusion a twist is delivered that I did not see coming, and Lance Henriksen delivers the goods, as he too has little to do until the last part of "Excessive Force". Overall an entertaining film that delivers what it promises. - MERK
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