BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Joxerlives SUCH a good film, could have easily earned a theatrical release. For a generation raised on David Soul as Detective Ken Hutchinson on Starsky and Hutch it really is a revelation to see him here as such a brutal villain (although having seen him as the vigilante police officer in 'Magnum Force' you realise his range extends far beyond clean cut heroes). Soul really dominates this film even with noted character actor Ronny Cox who was enjoying an excellent run at this stage of his career with his appearances in 'Robocop' and 'Total Recall'.I think what makes Platt and Matix so terrifying is their very ordinariness, both family men with no criminal record, both ex-soldiers with honourable discharges. Yet they were two of the most ruthless and violent criminals ever to be encountered. The final shootout is very accurate and thrilling, so well directed and acted by all. There are a few discrepancies from real life, the Miami police arrived sooner and helped protect one of the wounded agents, whilst Platt certainly did fire on Ed Moraless with his handgun it is disputed whether he got out of the car to do so. Terrific music too conveying the drama and excitement and also the poignancy of events depicted. Looking back now you can see all the mistakes the FBI made, not in their investigation which was flawless but in the final confrontation, they took on 2 men whom they knew were combat trained and armed with assault rifles with most of their agents just armed with pistols and one shotgun, only one of whom was wearing body armour. Nowadays many people criticize SWAT operations as over the top but they were developed partly as a result of this shootout. I think what really makes this stand out is the final sequence, the last zoom in on Matix's drivers licence and the voice-over informing us of the aftermath and unanswered questions surrounding the case never fails to chill the blood. The tribute at the end to Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan is always moving, giving their lives in the line of duty.

ramblinjack1 The true 1985/86 Dade County, Florida account of two ex-Army buddies, William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt and their twisted "my way or the highway" attitudes against the local FBI Bureau (Miami Division). Matix and Platt discover there is more than one way to 'play Army' and become the most aggressive bank / armored car robbers that ever packed heat since Bonnie Parker psychologically nailed Clyde Barrow's manhood to a Thompson drum magazine! The Bureau, after an exhaustive investigation, finally I-D the pair and make plans to apprehend them 'by the book'. Unfortunately the 'book' hasn't been updated since J. Edgar Hoover got fitted for his burial culottes!What transpires is the most intense TV movie crime drama ever put to film. Some claim this is the "greatest TV movie ever made". The steady, 100% believable build-up to the final 'shock and awe' shootout will have you transfixed in the knowledge that this actually went down and there wasn't a darn thing that could have stopped it, at the time. The FBI suffered the most devastating losses in the bureaus' history with only two dead scum-bags to show for it. The case has been a textbook study guide within the bureau ever since.Michael (Family Ties) Gross and David (Starky & Hutch) Soul as the suburban-psycho-punks go totally against type casting to deliver mesmerizing Emmy winning caliber roles (they didn't). If you consider the helicopter scene in Goodfellas brilliant this film's climax is simply a must see.

arthurclay An explosive and completely true account of the most horrific shootout between criminals and federal law enforcement in U.S. history. It is the story of Bill Mattix and Mike Platt, two former Army Rangers and ordinary blue collar guys who have families, raise kids, and pay their taxes. They also rob armored cars and shoot people for a living. And they are damn good at it. They kill people about as routinely as mowing their lawns with absolutely no remorse or second thought as to the consequences of their actions. Their exploits attract the attention of the Miami F.B.I. field office who become more and more interested in finding out who they are. The agents quickly become obsessed with stopping them before they rob and kill again. It sets the scene for the eventual showdown and the carnage that ensues when they try to corner the robbers. This one is hard to find but it is a great insight into the minds of two bank robbers and the FBI agents who hunted them.

LuvsFood The In The Line of Duty series stands out as excellent - I was fortunate enough to watch a police training tape that re-enacted the infamous shootout upon which this movie is based. The movie itself is well acted and directed. The shootout at the end is pretty amazing - in fact, it shows a real double-standard on the part of network television - they'll cut a theatrical film to death, but if it's made for TV, they'll spice it up as much as they want. You won't believe your eyes as Michael Gross (Family Ties) and half of Starsky and Hutch (David Soul), play vicious robbers, who are finally caught up with by FBI agents, and engage them in a bloody shootout. Gross and Soul take hit after hit before going down, and taking two agents with them. (This isn't theatrics, by the way. Those two men were adrenalized, and determined to get away. They really did take a lot of hits) The tactical mistakes made by the agents that day have reshaped police training forever.