Next of Kin (1989)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's high concept time in this tale of the hill folk of Kentucky taking on the Chicago mob. Patrick Swayze plays Truman Gates, who's from the hills and now works as a Chicago cop. His baby brother Gerald (Bill Paxton), a driver for a vending company, is murdered in cold blood by hot tempered cretin Joey Rosselini (Adam Baldwin). Well, Trumans' people get wind of this and his reactionary brother Briar (Liam Neeson) vows that vengeance will be meted out. Truman actually wants to do things the legal way and haul Joey into a court, but naturally things just don't work out that way.This may be far fetched and silly, but at least it's an entertaining story. One standout sequence has Briar escaping from the mob by hitching a ride on a train, and the climactic showdown when Trumans' family helps him take on a bunch of thugs is some pretty amusing stuff. (You gotta love the moment when Rhino (Valentino Cimo) finds some slithering friends waiting for him inside a bus.) It's all directed capably enough by John Irvin ("Ghost Story", "Raw Deal"), with efficient location filming and an enjoyable soundtrack.Certainly the cast gives it some real interest. Neeson is a hoot as the older brother, but Paxton disappears a little too soon from the story. Swayze is okay, nothing more, as our hero, but he does handle himself well in fight scenes. There is one funny sequence where Truman and Briar tussle while handcuffed to each other. Helen Hunt has a rather thankless role as a typical Concerned Wife. Andreas Katsulas plays the mafia boss and none other than Ben Stiller plays his son. Michael J. Pollard is his usual nutty, amusing self as a motel owner. Del Close appears briefly, and Ted Levine has one big scene.All things considered, this is all pretty routine and watchable. At least the redneck family aren't portrayed as one dimensional cartoon characters.Seven out of 10.

Here is an Example why Patrick Swayze (who? the haircut!) Never went Beyond His 15 Minutes of Fame and Liam Neeson is Still Going Strong. Talent and Ability. Director John Irvin Lost His Edge on this One and Delivered a Laughable, Clumsy, Shallow, and Listless Movie. The List of Name Actors going through the Motions here is Impressive and Long, but Doubtful that Any of Them Used this One on Their Resume. This Dog Don't Hunt.Occasionally the "Action" is Overscored by an FM Soft Rock Ballad with Lyrics about Family (or Kin) that make the Eyes Roll and a Knee Slap Inevitable. The Hillbilly and Mob Clichés abound and the Trademark Cultural Flourishes are on a Level Lower than Dirt. Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, and Ben Stiller all Compete with Swayze for the Razzberries.The Climactic Shoot Out is so Bland and Pretentious it can be a Hoot if You let it. There are Snakes on a Bus, Bear Trap, Bows and Arrows, Crossbow, Machine Guns, 45's, Shotguns, Grenade Launcher, Knives, a Hatchet. Hound-Dogs, and for the Really Big Ending...A Fist Fight.One of the Worst Action Movies of the Decade. The Only Attraction is the Big Name Cast and the Chicago Locations. Both are Misused and Mishandled. This One Misses all the Marks.

Never believable as hillbillies, Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson struggle with a one idea script that runs out of steam in the first half hour. Helen Hunt adds little as the violin teacher love interest. A few action scenes, one involving elevated trains, and the presence of the always interesting Michael J. Pollard help, but can't move the film beyond mediocrity. Believability flies out the window and what remains is such a stretch that the movie bogs down. The cops stand by while the vigilante hicks run amok with bows and arrows and shotguns. Then in the finale, the main mobster pulls a no surprise "surprise ending" that does little more than leave the audience more unsatisfied than before. - MERK

It's Kain-tuck hillbillies versus the Chicago mob in a typical John Irvin bad classic, NEXT OF KIN. A wooden but beautiful Patrick Swayze stars as a Chi-town cop originally from Kain-tuck whose brother (a young Bill Paxton) is murdered by a psychotic mobster (FIREFLY's Adam Baldwin). Another brother, straight out of the Kain-tuck hills (a bearded Liam Neeson doing a perfectly dreadful hillbilly accent) shows up to avenge Paxton's death, and all hell breaks loose. It's the Hatfields versus McCoys, downtown style. A young, somewhat awkward Ben Stiller plays the son of the mob boss. The final showdown is a comedy classic, as an army of hillbillies who come to the rescue, armed with bows and arrows among other things, takes on the gun-slinging mob in a graveyard. NEXT OF KIN is no ROAD HOUSE, although Swayze races around a lot in an old Camaro. And he wears a funny hat. Plus he has a mullet, which he sometimes twists into a fetching ponytail. In fact, depending on the scene, his hair out-acts him. I sometimes wonder how John Irvin kept getting jobs, but I suspect the studios loved him for his "one-take and let's move on" attitude.