Film Review: ''Exit Wounds''

GIVE STEVEN Seagal a gun, a bunch of crooked cops, and some missing heroin and you have a movie with plenty of activity - racy and mind-boggling at that. Right from the first frame till its action-packed end - complete with noisy shoot-outs and burning cars crashing into one another - the film charges ahead with aplomb and verve.

Seeing how invincible Steven is as a cop without much regard for authority when it comes to unravelling crime, one wonders if this is not what the heroes of yesteryear Indian films were all about - you had MGR vanquishing every possible obstruction and enemy and coming out fresh as a daisy - or you had an Amitabh Bachchan who could annihilate any bully without much ado - well then in this particular instance, Hollywood is no different. For, Steven as Orin Boyd, a tough urban detective can handle any amount of hostility without batting an eyelid - and what is indeed better is that you know right from the start that he will emerge unscathed and a complete winner giving the viewers value for their money.

Warner Bros Internationals' ``Exit Wounds'' is about the eternal problem of corruption at the higher echelons - in this case the police force with big money and drug deals acting as the motivating force. Fifty kilos of heroin disappear from the property vaults of the toughest precinct in Detroit. No one knows how! This will make someone five million dollars richer - maybe someone in uniform - where there are wheels within wheels.

With characters such as Latrell Walker (DMX), who are not what they seem, Boyd is surrounded by enemies who would like to eliminate him as he stumbles on layers and layers of deceit. The drug operation is deep and the one person who can help him uncover the truth is not a cop at all. Besides Latrell appears more than just another gangster getting rich off the drug trade. Does he hold the key to the corruption Orin is sensing all around him?

Screenplay by Ed Horowitz and Richard D'Ovidio (where the twists and turns are actually pretty straightforward and sometimes predictable), the film has been directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak (who did ``Romeo Must Die''). Also in the cast are Isaiah Washington, Micheal Jai White, Jill Hennessy, and Antony Anderson among others. If it's mindless entertainment you want then this is truly what is called ``time pass''.

CHITRA MAHESH

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Section  : Entertainment
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