SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Aiden Melton
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
tlawrenceintel
This is by far Jason Patric's best role. Even better than Sleepers and that's saying something. While he is not the best actor and will likely never receive any serious acclaim, he serves this role up realistically. The downward spiral that he slips into as the good cop gone rogue is believable. I came to realize that this could really happen when deep undercover gets too deep. Look for Greg Allman in an amazing performance in a role that was tailor-made just for him. The ultimate gangster/biker/outlaw long before Sons of Anarchy was conceived.
IHATEITHERE74
As an ex-addict (who am I a fooling, I'll always be an addict for life), this movie plays to exactly how an addict works in life. You will do whatever you have to do to get that high. Whether it be coke, heroin, speed, etc. this movie portrays it perfectly. Once you have done heroin, there is no turning back. Yes, it is that addictive. I'm not a big coke fan, but Meth (Speed)is damned addictive and good luck getting off of it once you have started. This movie portrays this perfectly, as Jennifer J. Leigh is going through the carpet and snorting whatever Meth she has found (I've done the same and it is a terrible thing).The message of this movie is perfectly clear. Do NOT put yourself in the position to get strung out on any of this stuff. It will ruin your life, like it ruined mine.Is there anything better than a shot of heroin? No...There is not. Is there anything better than being high on Meth? No, there is not. STAY AWAY FROM IT ALL OR IT WILL WRECK YOUR LIFE AS IT DID MINE!!!Drugs are a great escape until you find out it is too late and in up in rehab (which I did). Even after rehab I went back to using. Yep....It is that hard a habit to break.I am in a Methadone clinic now, but getting close to getting out.Bottom line? Don't mess with any of this stuff if you want to keep a clean life.God bless.
jzappa
Rush does not have my favorite atmosphere, that of big belt buckles, long hair, cowboy hats, and barrelhead bars. Not a fan. But, the film is very powerful. It's directed with a very discerning pace and clearcut, head-on reception of every emotion and tension released by every scene by Lili Fini Zanuck. Because of this, the film, which some say is not so action- packed, is actually brimming with action. The action doesn't largely involve guns or chases or fights but involves a harrowing ride through the attacks of libido and paranoia of drug addiction. The film is a masterpiece of direct film-making. Not only is Zanuck's aforementioned style barefaced and precise, the story is the reality of a deep cover narcotics operation. Hardly any connection with the outside world at all, the acclamation to hard drugs, the dangerous risk taken by the chemistry between the narcs working together, and the unexpected traumatic, malicious confrontations that turn out to be the most harrowing and affecting experiences on the whole.Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh make for a surprisingly very intense duo. Patric delivers a gem of a performance as a dark, hardened cop who reaches the peak of every alarming human extent. Leigh, as the straight man so to speak in that particular area, delivers on quite a sensitive note. Also, having been scarred by her maddening irritating side in The Hudsucker Proxy, I was happy to see her in a performance where she did not go over the top and stayed at the level that made her stand out quite a lot. And, on a side note, I had no idea she was so hot. Her body, especially around the level of the hips and thighs, is perfection rarely so magnified. Watch for the scene in the apartment where she's wearing jeans and a black shirt. You'll sweat till your clothes stick.Rush has what one wouldn't expect from a film like it, and that is a villain that is an added bonus in every way. We see him only as silent punctuation at the beginning, middle, and end. He is elusive, smarter than any of his partners, calculating, all underneath that long Texas hair of his. From the start, we are presented with a man who only appears to all that come in contact with him to be no different, wearing boots, the accent, everything I said at the top, the like, but beneath the appearance is someone who knows the trouble and chaos those who try to catch him throughout the film are about to go through and smirks inside about it.
Robert J. Maxwell
The cable guide summary was misleading -- "Two undercover cops become lovers and addicted to dope and danger." Look out -- action movie ahead, right? Righteous cops seek out Gothic underworld figures. Motorcycle chases. Exploding heads. Vicious beatings. The shoot out in the automobile graveyard. The final vindication with the hero's arm in a sling. But no. It's a mature movie. Above all, the couple don't get hooked on danger. On the contrary, they're scared to death of it. Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh are two narcs who must be part of the drug world they inhabit and yet retain their identities as cops. In a way they're marginal people, like shop foremen or upper-echelon clerks -- no longer just workers, yet not part of management either. Or like cultural anthropologists, for that matter, participant observers, of which I was one. Two of us were studying psychedelic drug use in New York way back when and were doing on-site observation at a party where everyone else was getting stoned. The dope turned my hosts paranoid and they accused us of being narcs. My partner and I agreed that I would partake of the illicit substance -- just a hit or two to reassure our subjects -- and my partner would not. It reflected really poor judgment on my part. (How long is the statue of limitations in effect, again?) But watching this movie, I could understand pretty much exactly where these two narcs were coming from. In their case, life and death were involved. If you don't participate, you don't do your job. If you do, you're breaking the law. If one side finds you out, you're spanked. If the other side finds you out, you're spanked.What's important in a movie like this are the performances and they're quite good. Not just Patric and Leigh, but even the smaller parts. I was pleasantly surprised by the direction as well. Let me see. The producer is Richard Zanuck. The director is Lili Fini Zanuck. When you see a combination of names like those with statuses like those, you have to suspect nepotism. But, nepotism or no, the direction is unhurried, dark, humorless and very effective, the subdued equal of one of Sidney Lumet's stories of squealing cops in New York. The photography is outstanding, its colors drawn from the cool end of the spectrum. The music is by Eric Clapton and he does a great riff on Texas Rock, though we still hear his vibrating chords through the cow flops.It isn't a happy movie. But it's unusually well done.