Protagonist Rick Santoro is a cop in Atlantic City; he is not a hero; he takes bribes and shakes down crooks rather than arrest them. His friend Commander Kevin Dunne is almost his opposite; an upstanding naval officer who is in town leading the security detail of the Defence Secretary. Dunne is keen for everything to go well as his boss watches a boxing match
unfortunately it doesn't while Dunne is investigating a suspicious redhead shots ring out and the Secretary goes down. A second shot clips the woman next to him and as she flees Santoro sees that her blonde hair was a wig. Dunne shoots the assassin but he knows he messed up however Santoro assures him he can spin it so he looks good.
At first it looks like a single terrorist is behind the crime but the investigation quickly suggests otherwise; the shooter fired just after the favourite hit the canvas in what TV footages shows was a dive. We soon learn that he was approached by the redhead and another member of the crowd shouted his cue to dive clearly there was a conspiracy. It looked as though this was going to be a mystery but forty minutes in we learn who the chief bad guy is at it isn't much longer before we learn the wounded girl was in fact a target as she was blowing the whistle on company giving falsified data to win a defence contract. The question is will Santoro save her and expose the corruption or will he live up to his reputation and take the easy option.
This is a solid thriller; not a classic but worth watching on television or picking up if you see it in the bargain bin. The story gets off to a good start and sets up an interesting mystery it is just a shame that the bad guy was exposed so soon; it would have been better if we'd learnt his identity at the same time as Santoro. The action is well handled even if things get a bit cliché towards the end. Nicolas Cage is delightfully over the top as Santoro and Gary Sinise is solid as his friend Dunne. Carla Gugino looks good as the female lead although her character is sadly underused. Overall an entertaining way to pass an hour and a half.
At first it looks like a single terrorist is behind the crime but the investigation quickly suggests otherwise; the shooter fired just after the favourite hit the canvas in what TV footages shows was a dive. We soon learn that he was approached by the redhead and another member of the crowd shouted his cue to dive clearly there was a conspiracy. It looked as though this was going to be a mystery but forty minutes in we learn who the chief bad guy is at it isn't much longer before we learn the wounded girl was in fact a target as she was blowing the whistle on company giving falsified data to win a defence contract. The question is will Santoro save her and expose the corruption or will he live up to his reputation and take the easy option.
This is a solid thriller; not a classic but worth watching on television or picking up if you see it in the bargain bin. The story gets off to a good start and sets up an interesting mystery it is just a shame that the bad guy was exposed so soon; it would have been better if we'd learnt his identity at the same time as Santoro. The action is well handled even if things get a bit cliché towards the end. Nicolas Cage is delightfully over the top as Santoro and Gary Sinise is solid as his friend Dunne. Carla Gugino looks good as the female lead although her character is sadly underused. Overall an entertaining way to pass an hour and a half.