Ricochet

Starring: Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T, Kevin Pollak
Directed by: Russell Mulcahy
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
1991

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: As a young cop, Nick Styles (Denzel Washington) captures a dangerous criminal (John Litgow). Years later, when Nick is the assistant district attorney, and the criminal escapes from prison, bent on ruining the life of the man that ruined his.

Review:

Tim: This is a pretty average cop action thriller. Denzel Washington has done a number of these types of movies, and he is always very good in the roles. This movie is interesting because it follows a chance encounter between Washington and John Lithgow, and how that one event spins their lives in alternate directions before eventually coming full circle.

I really liked how the film portrayed Washington's character's career. Not too many cop films have the patience to do this, but it makes for a very interesting aspect of the movie. As I mentioned, Washington excels in these roles.

Lithgow is decent as the bad guy, but he has portrayed better villains elsewhere (like Cliffhanger). He gets the job done, though. Ice-T is ridiculous and not very interesting. Kevin Pollak provides good supporting work, as he is one of the top #2 men in the industry. The guy just works so well as a sidekick. I hope he and Washington work together in the future.

Lithgow's elaborate plot to ruin Washington's life is a bit farfetched. While brilliant and intense as it slowly unfolds, the plot is pretty ridiculous and hampers the film a bit. The movie ends in absurd fashion and loses its focus as it concludes.

Ricochet is a pretty decent film, but offers nothing to position itself apart from the many similar films out there. If you get a chance to see it, you shouldn't be too disappointed, but you can easily miss this one and still be quite solid. The movie is not what you might expect, but at least is interesting and fairly entertaining.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Mighty Quinn, A Soldier's Story, Out of Time, Inside Man