Ricochet (1991)

As Good As It Gets

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A rookie cop becomes a media sensation after a video camera captures him shooting and capturing a psycho killer. The handsome, smooth talking cop becomes a celebrated district attorney and even potential political candidate. He now has a beautiful wife and two great kids.Meanwhile the psycho killer follows his career from prison, seething with hatred, eventually to make a bloody break from prison, fake his own death, then begin a systematic attempt to ruin the D.A.'s life by a series of incidents in which people, including his own wife, will question his sanity. The D.A. will soon be on the run from the law, having to team with old street gang members in order to clear himself.Denzel Washington is the cop/D.A. and John Lithgow, incredibly, the psycho killer who seemingly can't be stopped. Lithgow even has a mortal combat sequence with Jesse "The Body" Ventura in which he is the quite easy victor. Really? Lithgow besting Ventura mano a mano? Ice T plays the chief gang member.This film starts well enough but becomes increasingly over the top as it proceeds and then, well, just plain dumb. Action fans who just want to go on a free wheeling ride and don't care about logic may enjoy it while others may be turned off by a film that becomes pretty hysterical in its presentation, particularly the climax with television cameras there to record all the action.In the prison Lithgow has a cell wall covered with photos of Washington, a reflection of his clear obsession with him. But prison authorities don't seem to care. What kind of prison is this? His combat scene with Ventura, with all inmates cheering them on, continues for three or four minutes. No prison guards around to stop them? What kind of prison is this? When a prison break is made power tools are used as weapons, including a power saw for one spectacular way for a uniformed guard to die. What kind of prison is this? Washington's power as an actor comes through sporadically but he can't make the material seem any better. There are a couple of scenes in which he is stripped down to show how semi beef cakey he was at the time. There is also a moment, to show what kind of film Ricochet is, in which one character has a spectacular fall, landing on a spike which rips through his body.Washington's deadpan response, "You get the point now, don't you?" It's a cheap jokey cringe worthy moment, reminiscent of Sean Connery's 007.

I give this a movie a high rating for many of the reasons people have given it a low rating. As one reviewer stated, it's way way WAy over the top! To me this is a plus to what would otherwise be a pretty boring movie. I found much of it to be hilarious. This movie does echo the whole Lethal Weapon, Die Hard vibe, and is basically the same plot as Cape Fear. But where those movies seemed somewhat plausible, at least as movies, this one goes off the rails. Denzel and Lithgow are watchable even in this ridiculous movie. Here are some highlights:Spoiler Alert:A gladiator fight between Lithgow and Jesse Ventura in prison using phone books as armorA jockstrap with a holdout pistol holsterLindsay Wagner salivating over a nude DenzelA prison guard being killed with a circular sawIce TKevin Pollack doing Columbo and Captain Kirk impressionsA fight scene at the top of Watts TowersAn obligatory impaling of the antagonistA bar with a heavyset topless woman and a midget (little person) walking on the bar serving drinksAnd so much more as the dialog will make you cringe and laugh out loud. I honestly wasn't expecting the level of exploitative entertainment that was contained in this flick and liked in a so bad it's good way.

A strong opening sequence, reminiscent of titles straight from a Hitchcock movie, bodes well and it's Denzel to the max from the opening frames. 'Ricochet' is very much a product of the 80's in its look and sound, and there's a hard edge and some snappy dialog that really pushes the action forward without pulling any of its numerous punches. This is most likely down to the screenplay being penned by Steven de Souza who wrote Die Hard; DH 2; 48 Hours and Another 48 Hours, some of the previous decades' defining films. John Lithgow's performance is suitably deranged, Kevin Pollack provides solid support (nice impression in the early stages). It's a good story, not without a Hitchcockian twist or two, arguably not particularly polished as a final product, but still a barrel load of kitschy '80's fun. Worth a look, especially for Denzel fans.

i found this to be a very exciting,action packed movie,with a few good twists.Denzel Washington is great here as a rookie cop.John Lithgow is also very good here.Ice-T has a smaller role,but is also very good.look for Lindsay Wagner(the original Bionic Woman) in a supporting role.once the movie gets going it(and it doesn't take long)it keeps going.it's a real nerve shredder.i was glued from the get go.there's a lot more action than character development in this one,but you are given enough information on the characters to have some investment in them.if this movie doesn't get your blood pumping,i'd be very surprised.but then again,it's all a matter of opinion and taste.for me,though,i enjoyed every second of it.