Lethal Force (2002)

Lethal Force (2002)-*

Directed by: James Dalthorp

Starring: Richard Tyson, Steven Owsley, Michelle Stafford, Willie Gault, and Robert Vaughn













Thomas Carruth (Tyson) is a Texas cop who laments the “old days” when law enforcement didn’t have so much red tape involved and there were less confining rules. So he goes rogue, becoming the judge, jury and executioner all on his own terms. Apparently this doesn’t sit right with go-getting attorney Renee Alexander (Stafford), who approaches fellow lawyer J.B. Thornton (Owsley) about building a case against Carruth. Even with the help of Eddie Mills (Gault), catching Carruth is not going to be easy. So they slowly, meticulously do it anyway. Will they catch this Carruthless character? Can they fight through the Carruption? Find out today! (Actually, don’t...)

You’d think a Direct-to-Video movie starring Richard Tyson and Robert Vaughn called Lethal Force would be a surefire winner. However, it’s not very lethal and has minimal force. However, that’s the Corman-released title (others were Cottonmouth and Silent Justice) - and it seems to be a cynically misleading ploy to get suckers like us to think this is an action movie. It’s actually a TV-style drama about two lawyers building their case against someone. It’s nothing you wouldn’t see on an episode of Law & Order - and it would probably be done better on a Law & Order episode. The main problem is, by far the best and most interesting character is Carruth, and there are huge stretches where he’s nowhere in sight. And they could have made him a lot more evil. The non-Carruth scenes have no edge or bite to them.

Carruth is a good role for Tyson, and we were wishing he would come back in a better movie. Incidentally, he resembles a cross between Martin Kove and Steven Bauer. Amazingly, this movie came out in 2002, but it looks like it’s from 1992. And seeing as how we were on Robert Vaughn watch, we noted how he doesn’t appear until 69 minutes into the movie. At that point it’s just a salvage job and it’s far beyond the powers of any actor to save the wreckage, but it seems Vaughn at least tried his best.

Sadly, Lethal Force is a dull, uninvolving legal drama that was cruelly mis-marketed as some kind of action movie. If you ever see this movie in any store, don’t take the bait. (Ty paid fifty cents at The Salvation Army for this on VHS - and that’s exactly where it’s going back). Let us act as guinea pigs for you. If you’re expecting action, avoid Lethal Force.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Strike Force (1981)

Strike Force (1981)-* * *

Directed by: Charlie Piceni

Starring: Robert Stack, Dorian Harewood, Richard Romanus, Trisha Noble, Billy Drago, and Michael Goodwin











Captain Frank Murphy (Stack), Sgt. Paul Strobber (Harewood), Lt. Charlie Gunzer (Romanus), Sgt. Mark Osborne (Goodwin) and Sgt. Rosie Johnson (Noble) aren’t just any old L.A. cops. Together they take on the toughest crimes as an elite unit known as the Strike Force!

Strike Force was an hour-long police procedural drama TV show that ran on ABC from 1981-82 and produced 19 episodes in total. Active home video decided to put out what seems to be the first two episodes edited together, and then release it to the burgeoning video store market that was hungry for boxes to fill its shelves. The plot this time around concerns a disturbed man that’s going around town with an axe decapitating people on Tuesdays. But the Strike Force must find out the link between the victims in time to save the next one on the murderer’s list. Can they do it?

The 80’s were an amazing time - not only were shows like this being produced, but startup video companies were more than willing to release them into video stores all across the land (and beyond). Similar to what Vidmark did with Fortune Dane (1986). Just take some episodes of a show and put ‘em on video and see what happens. Even if the show was off the air, there was no intention of getting back on the air (like what happened with Family Guy) - it’s all about video store product for video store product’s sake. In that sense it’s very unpretentious and that’s very appealing.

About twenty years before The Shield had it’s Strike Team, Robert Stack had his Strike Force. Stack plays a divorced guy who lives in a sloppy house with his dog and appears to be feeding it a brand of dog food called “Doggone It”. The generation of actors that includes Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Clint Eastwood  and Chuck Connors will never be seen again. Now it’s just prissy, effeminate man-children like Leonardo DiCaprio. Thus, Strike Force will, if nothing else, remind you of a better time. Fans of shows like Adam-12 and Mannix will certainly appreciate what’s going on here, and the music of the show reinforces its strong A-Team vibe as well. This VHS tape in particular will appeal most to people nostalgic for this era or this show in particular.

Being part of the Strike Force, the team gets to go undercover all together, dressing up as chefs or a construction crew to get the job done (during the restaurant sequence, watch out for a young Billy Drago playing, what else, a bad guy - maybe his one shot in Strike Force typecast him for life. The show’s influence is still carrying on today; maybe it’s more powerful and influential than anyone realizes). It also recalls back to a time before political correctness. For example, Noble wears a shirt that says “Junk Food Is Good For You!” - this probably wouldn’t be allowed today. But the worst thing you could really say about Strike Force is that it gets a bit “standard” at times, but maybe that’s because there have been a lot of shows like it in the intervening years.

Released in an Active home video big-box, the only “Unsolved Mystery” here is why this show isn’t as well-known today as it should be.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty