U.S. Marshals Review
by "Fred M. Hung" (fhung AT dttus DOT com)March 11th, 1998
US Marshals
A Review by Fred M. Hung
I should have known what to expect when I saw the director, Stuart Baird, whose last work was Executive Decision, a mildly entertaining but mostly formulaic and uneven Die Hard in air. In US Marshals, Sam Gerard is again on the hunt for Sheridan, a former Marine, Special Forces. Robert Downey, Jr., DSS Special Agent John Royce, is a new addition to the team.
The first Fugitive was a remake of the old TV series, and no one had more doubts than I about its effectiveness. Yet the sheer unrelenting pace and amazingly strong characters made the film so much more than the sum of its parts. Tommy Lee Jones was riveting, full of energy resolve, and professionalism. Many will complain that US Marshals suffers because it lacks Harrison Ford, but Ford’s performance, though solid, was not particularly out of his narrow range. In fact, you can supplant Ford’s President from Air Force One with Dr. Richard Kimble and one could scarcely tell the difference. What made Fugitive truly great was the combination of Tommy Lee Jones’ Sam Gerard, a noble Wyatt Earp who, though chasing our hero Harrison Ford, is difficult to dismiss, and impossible to hate.
US Marshals is disappointing, but not in the material, in the editing. In a film class I took back in college, we were taught that editing creates continuity, and thus makes the story of the film. The blame, therefore, must fall on Baird. In fact, all the elements of a good film are present in US Marshals, action, plots and subplots, bad guys, and noble good guys. Unfortunately, nothing successfully gels these components. Even Jerry Goldsmith, whose musical scores are usually quite engrossing, produces a nondescript and absolutely nonemotive effort. At times I even wondered whether they had forgotten to add a score.
Like Executive Decision, US Marshals suffers from moments of intensity, to great lulls in rhythm. The plane crash where Snipe’s Sheridan escapes is preceded by a very tepid formal where Gerard’s superior orders him to take vacation. In addition, The supporting cast blends too easily in the background to be noticeable. The chemistry between Sam Gerard and his men in the Fugitive created levity in the moments when they interacted. In the US Marshals Baird attempts to mimic these moments, but they too seem forced.
While certainly disappointing, US Marshals is not a horrible film, but audience expectation is so much greater. I can think about a dozen directors, namely Michael Bay, Tony Scott, John McTiernan, and certainly Andrew Davis (although Chain Reaction was pretty lackluster) that could have made more of this solid cast. What a waste of talent.
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