First They Broke The Law. Now They Are The Law.
Starring: Claire Danes, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Farina, Josh Brolin, Steve Harris, Michael Lerner
Director: Scott Silver
1999 | 94 Minutes | Rated R
“I’m getting too old for this shit.” – Julie
I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on this one. This is the second time I have tried to watch The Mod Squad. The first time I had to turn it off. This time, I am really only watching it so I can review it and get rid of it.
Julie (Claire Danes), Pete (Giovanni Ribisi) and Linc (Omar Epps) are three troubled teens turned underground cops. When they uncover an intricate drug ring involving dirty cops their boss is killed leaving the Mod Squad to go it alone to try to clear their boss’ name and their own.
The production seemed confused as to whether it wanted The Mod Squad to be a modern movie or a throwback to the 70s. The colors (lots of orange and brown), the music (yuck), the clothing (ick), the moustaches and sideburns (those are cool) are all throwbacks or are at least hinting at that distinct 70s look. But the world that everything takes place in is current or at least a CW/UPN view of what is current. I get what they were going for but it just didn’t work.
The story is straight out of a hokey 70s cop show complete with terrible acting and dialogue. There are probably 20-30 TV shows that are on TV right now that have far better writing than this movie. And worst of all, it was boring.
The action scenes are, again, in the style of a 70s cop show. They are all way too short to get into and more time is spent on the “chase.”
Ultimately, The Mod Squad tried to be stylish but ultimately felt as cheap as the 70s police dramas it was based on. Now that I am finished here I just need to find some sucker to buy this from me on Ebay. Know anyone?
Action Movie Fanatix 